


The Ruby Family

by Peridawesome



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Ruby Squad becomes the Crystal Gems
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:08:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 23,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26932651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peridawesome/pseuds/Peridawesome
Summary: In a universe in which Rose is all that remains of the Crystal Gems, a chance encounter with a group of Rubies results in something very unexpected.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 112
Kudos: 43





	1. Where We're Supposed to Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ruby Ship lands, and they come to find things not as they expected.

After what felt like far too long, but was really way faster than what should be possible, the ship crashlanded in a field of grass just near a barn. Soon, the five Rubies would emerge, with the visor-wearing leader going first and the confused darker-toned one exiting last. They were here not for sight-seeing or capturing Earthlings, merely to inspect the local area due to suspicions from the Diamonds of potential gem activity that had not been permitted. The Rubies were fairly confident that they could handle it, not knowing exactly how serious of a situation this would be but assuming that the fact they sent them specifically meant they'd be well-equipped to deal with it. (In reality, they were sent because they didn't want to risk their best on such a mission.)  
  
"Okay, Rubies, let's see, uh... yeah, I think there might be something over there, with all those houses!" the leader proclaimed, pointing in that direction.  
  
Summoning her knife, the one-eyed Ruby would exclaim eagerly, "I can't wait to give this traitor a piece of my mind!"  
  
"W-wait, they never said we had to fight anyone," the youngest of the quintet would complain, shuffling her feet nervously.  
  
In the midst of their squabbling, they failed to realize that what their leader managed to correctly point out was indeed a gem, and was moving in their direction. By the time they'd turn back to face the boardwalk, she was merely a few meters away and drawing nearer despite what appeared to be some trouble.  
  
It was clear as day who this gem was, with their long dress, billowing pink hair, and that enormous sword. And while all five of them felt some sort of animosity toward her, it was primarily the knife-wielding Ruby who had the strongest desire to attack. Thus, they had to hold her back to keep things from getting serious.  
  
When she was close enough to be able to have a conversation, the leader would question with narrow eyes, "What do you think you're doing here, Rose Quartz? And without any of your loyal soldiers?"  
  
"M-My... soldiers... are gone," she'd reply, looking mournful, as well as sounding strained.  
  
The Rubies would take note of a bump on her stomach, which did not appear to be normal for a gem of her kind.  
  
Finally calmed down enough to be let go, the one-eyed Ruby would question, "What do you want, to poof and shatter us? We're not scared of you, you don't even look like you can lift your sword!"  
  
"I... I am not going to fight you. My time is short right now, I just wish to ask you to not hurt the people of this planet..."  
  
Looking puzzled, the youngest Ruby would question, "W-Why does she look so um, sad...? I thought Rose Quartz was terrifying..."  
  
"It must be some kind of trick, no way she's- _oh, she fell!"  
  
_ The typically most violent-prone of the group would gasp in shock, seeing Rose fall to her back. Soon, someone would run toward her from the town, making the Rubies instinctively back away. It appeared to be a human with a rotund body and a lack of hair on his head, and they seemed to be close with how they spoke to one another.  
  
Putting her hands up, the naval-based Ruby would assure him, "W-we promise we didn't hurt her!"  
  
"I-It's okay, I didn't think you did. She shouldn't have been walking around anyway," he'd assure them. "Rose, come on, let's go back..."  
  
Letting out a gasp, Rose would respond, "I... I don't know if I'll be able to do that, Greg. I think it's time."  
  
"W-wait, already...?! B-but, it feels like there was barely any time! If six months was going to go that fast, I..."  
  
The Ruby Squad watched the interaction with confusion, clearly not knowing what was going on. Some were concerned, others were just annoyed that rather than getting an epic confrontation with the leader of the Crystal Gems, they had to watch her get all weak and soft. Eventually, though, they'd see Rose signal for them to move closer- with Greg wiping away some tears after the end of their conversation and backing away.  
  
In a weak tone, she'd inform them, "I will not be here in a moment, but... I believe you five have the potential to serve a purpose far greater than you could ever achieve on Homeworld."  
  
"W-why should we trust you, Rose Quartz...?! We've heard the stories about you-!"  
  
Interrupting the one-eyed gem, Rose would promise, "I have no tricks. And you have no obligation, but... you'd be the only chance that my child will have to learn about his Gem side."  
  
"C-Child...? Gem... side? I don't understand," the dark-colored Ruby admitted, and for once, everyone was on the same page with her.  
  
Giving a somewhat frail-sounding laugh, the leader of the Crystal Gems admitted, "I know, it must sound crazy. But what they tell you on Homeworld is only the beginning of what Gems are capable of... they value you only as disposable soldiers, but on Earth, you can be a soldier while having an entire life! Please, just... make the choice that feels right to you, not the choice that would make Homeworld the happiest..."  
  
She would reach up, and Greg would clasp her hand tight. Whispers were exchanged between the human and the gem warrior before a bright light began to shine, which blinded the five Rubies...  
  
When it finally dimmed, and everything was done, there was no Rose Quartz anywhere to be found. No, there was just... a small, fleshy human.

They'd look around to see if maybe she was hiding in a bush, but no, that would be impossible! But then, how was whatever just happened possible...?

"Um, Greg...?" muttered the youngest of the Rubies. "Is... she really gone?"

Nodding, he would wipe away his tears and pick up the small human, explaining, "T-this... this is Steven. He's our son... and um, I know Homeworld has a lot to offer back there, but... I feel like you five would make for some good help."

The five began to consider it, with the naval Ruby questioning emotionally, "Won't the Diamonds wonder why we're gone...?"

"...no, they won't. They won't care about us. We're Rubies, they send us off on pointless missions all the time, not expecting us to return. That's because they expect us to just go along with it, never question anything..."

The other four, and even Greg, were surprised by their leader's introspection... clearly, she earned her position in charge. 

One by one, with the one-eyed Ruby being the last due to her reluctance, they'd go toward Greg to signal their acceptance of this strange offer. 

With a choked-up laugh, he'd respond, "T-thanks... Rubies. I might have to come up with nicknames for you five, though, that might get confusing."

And so, the first day of the rest of their new lives would start...


	2. The Adjustment Period

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learn how things go from weird to sorta good for the new occupants of Beach City.

The Ruby Squad would soon come to be referred to, and refer to each other, with nicknames that came straight from Greg's mind. The visor-wearing leader became known as Doc; the one-eyed secretly anxious one became Eyeball; the very emotional and somewhat sassy one became dubbed Navy; the far-too-brutish member of the group got the name of Army; and finally, the youngest of the bunch became Leggy. The names were odd at first to the group, but it did not take long to get used to saying them rather than just saying Ruby over and over again.

While Rose had been the one to give them the motivation to start raising Steven, and she had been the leader of the Crystal Gems, the quintet felt odd about taking on the title of the Crystal Gems. Rather, they decided to stick with calling themselves the Ruby Squad- a name that was pretty easy for people to learn, since it got straight to the point and sounded very cool to many.   
  
Of course, they couldn't effectively raise Steven without a home, and so they'd eagerly want to help Greg in building one! there was some open space near the Car Wash, so that was where they decided to start setting things up. Greg had to double his workload, both teaching guitar and washing cars, in order to pay for things like plumbing and whatnot. People really liked the Rubies, though, so it allowed money to come in a lot faster to assist with their cause to raise a little baby.  
  
Not long after they built the house, they'd find themselves dealing with these strange disfigured gem creatures who wished to cause quite the ruckus, and it definitely put Steven in plenty of danger. Luckily, it was a natural fit for the Ruby Squad to act as bodyguards, and it would not take long before they went from a simple cute group of aliens to the new heroes of this ocean-side town! They'd send all the gems they poofed to the luckily spacious basement, all clustered together up near the ceiling.  
  
At the start of their introduction to the Boardies, the reception was mixed- some found them too adorable to be taken seriously, while others were a bit put off by the idea of living nearby a bunch of aliens. However, people warmed up to them fast, and as weirdness began to gravitate into town, it was seen as greatly important to have little weirdos like them protecting their fragile human selves. One yellow-haired kid would take notice of them early on and become fascinated, making theory after theory regarding the truth behind their presence. (If he were to simply go up and ask them, they'd give him the full story, but he was not all that bright.)

Raising Steven began like a simple job they would do on Homeworld, just with more caveats to it than _keep someone from getting hurt._ No, they also had to learn how to cook food, make proper formula, bathe and diaper Steven, etc. After a while, it stopped feeling like a job or an assignment as they began to feel more and more accustomed to it, and merely seeing Steven smile as he fell asleep each night felt enough to justify their decision to stay on Earth. Even Eyeball, the most hesitant to do this before, was really warming up to it.  
  
The Ruby Squad was definitely in an entirely new world, raising a child with the approval and guidance of resident human expert Greg Universe, and protecting a vulnerable town from any dangers that may befall it.

It felt like an honor they got to experience such a new kind of life... no longer just trying to seek the approval of someone who could care less about them, but doing seemingly meaningless tasks that continued to prove themselves effective in benefitting the life of a small but important person in their lives. 

They were no longer soldiers or even bodyguards, but mothers. The term felt odd, to say the least when they first heard it used to refer to them. However, Greg seemed agreeable to that phrasing, and they definitely warmed up to it fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to go the route of the last chapter of The Peridot Effect and give a sweeping description of how things change over the course of just over a decade. If anyone wants to see me hone in on something specific pre-Gem Glow, let me know!
> 
> (BTW, since Leggy in canon was born 'yesterday' as of her first appearance, we can assume that she is aged up by fourteen years to compensate in this AU.)


	3. Embiggening of Moms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several years before his own, Steven learns about fusion from his five moms.

At the age of seven, Steven had begun homeschooling, with Greg needing to buy books online in order to help teach Steven the ins and outs of... well, whatever subjects Greg was capable of teaching at his education level. The option had been on the table to try and get Steven into actual school since they had programs for less financially stable kids, but the Ruby Squad deemed that it may distract from him learning from their combat abilities and eventually brushing up on his own. This was a sentiment that Greg could understand, even if he wasn't super excited about his son one day needing to fight in life-threatening battles.  
  
During Steven's lesson on basic subtraction and addition, he would end up distracted by what looked like a giant red blob out the window, and his dad would be equally distracted and would cautiously let him go to the porch to take a look. There, Steven would see something that would definitely shake him to his core...  
  
It appeared to be a much bigger version of his five moms, fighting off some kind of pink-and-blue moth which was causing a real racket. Steven found the moth cool enough, but he was most interested in how exactly the Ruby Squad had been able to combine into this new Ruby!   
  
Once the battle was over, and the monster had been sent away, Steven would rush up to the Rubies and ask eagerly, "W-what were you doin' just now~?"  
  
"Oh, that was just a thing we call fusion," Doc would explain. "Whenever we need to take out someone too powerful to be by ourselves, we can combine our strength and become even bigger!"  
  
With admiration, Steven would proclaim, "That's so cooool! D-do you think I'll one day be able to do a f-fusion...?"  
  
"Hm, well..."   
  
Interrupting Doc, Navy would proclaim with enthusiasm, "Of course you can! You're so cool and strong already, no way you won't be able to fuse!"  
  
She'd lift Steven up to encourage him, and the other Rubies went along with it as Steven laughed and grew excited by the prospect of one day fusing and becoming a whole new person!  
  
Whenever he had time, he would insist to watch the Rubies fuse so he could observe how it happened. He'd notice them performing fun dances before it happened, and he wondered if he would need to practice dancing in order to get a handle on fusion...  
  
Fusion basically became Steven's first step into his fascination with gem culture, really, so the fact that he took his sweet time figuring out how to really fuse was made up for by the fact that he would soon get to explore a very peculiar history. He could care less about how many states there were, or who the first President was; he wanted to know how far away Homeworld was, what it was made out of, how gems are made, everything!   
  
Navy, as the rest of the Rubies found out, mainly gave Steven that encouragement out of the hope that it would motivate him to keep trying, and that he'd eventually figure out how to really fuse. In reality, she had not been super sure but didn't really want to say anything to make him feel like he was any lesser than them in terms of ability. It would certainly pay off, though!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to do something cute and quick, before we eventually get into taking episodes of the show and spinning them around! Truth be told, I think this will have a stronger divergence from canon than even The Peridot Effect, in terms of Steven's upbringing!


	4. An Eventful Parade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ruby Squad participates in the Boardwalk Parade, and soon find themselves changing Steven's life in the process!

Every year, Steven and the Ruby Squad participates in the Boardwalk Parade, an event that allows the people of this small town come together and enjoy what makes them all unique and interesting... well, scratch that, Steven and Greg were the ones who primarily participated. The Ruby Squad usually was out on an important mission and would miss out on the festivities, but this year, when Steven was simply eleven years old, the Ruby Squad would be lucky enough to be around to get informed of this human activity... and would end up voting three-to-two to do it! Leggy only needed some puppy-dog eyes from Steven, Navy was all-in on having some human-style fun, and Doc felt like it might be beneficial for the team to understand what the citizens of this strange town liked. Meanwhile, Eyeball and Army had felt like this would simply distract from more important things, but went along with it anyhow to make Steven happy.

They would dress up in scrub brush costumes and sit upon the top of Greg's van, which had been decorated to look like a giant soap-covered sponge, and a banner hung on both sides reading "IT'S A WASH" in comical letters. There were a couple of other floats in the parade, but none of them were as creatively done... not that there was a lot of competition, since this was a town with a population of a couple dozen at best. This meant that they needed to drive around a couple of laps to give it the same feeling of a real parade that one would watch on TV, requiring a lot of enthusiasm from the five alien guests. Well, at this point they weren't really aliens, since they've been around for a solid decade in order to make their residence a certainty in people's minds. 

During what might've been the third lap, Navy had begun to feel the energy waning from her body, and decided to break from her fixed "double fists in the air" pose to get a good look around. She'd notice Steven's gaze had drifted someplace, and she'd follow his gaze and find what had stolen his interest: a bracelet on the ground, presumably dropped by a girl near the front of the crowd. 

"Steven, you wanna get that bracelet back to her?" she whispered.

Whispering back, he'd admit, "Y-yeah, but I don't wanna interrupt the parade..."

"Come on, it'll take just a second!"

She'd end up grabbing Steven's hand and tugging to get him to hop off, and they'd land on the ground before scurrying to grab the bracelet and dash over to place it in the hand of the girl who had lost it.

She would be very taken aback, having not realized she lost the bracelet before, nor expecting that she'd be given it back by two of the participators of the parade.

Still, being very grateful, she'd softly greet, "T-thanks... I'm Connie."

"I'm Steven! I live by the Car Wash!" he'd reply, shaking her hand. 

Greg, having slowed down his float slightly to make sure Steven was okay, was definitely getting the natural excitement a father gets when seeing their son making a new friend. At the same time, the Rubies- especially Navy- were getting excited as well. Eyeball and Army were feeling like they had made the right decision to come along, and that they had misjudged how important something like this might be, Doc felt like her leadership skills were just as good now as they had been for the last several centuries, and Leggy was grateful that Steven had talked her into breaking the tie. 

The rest of the parade would commence like normal, just with the Ruby Squad having a renewed sense of enthusiasm that really shone through in the way they portrayed themselves on the float. Greg would make a humorous comment later that Steven making a new friend would inadvertently lead to It's a Wash getting a significant increase in customers, and that it might be beneficial in more ways than one for Steven to get to know the folks around town. Steven would miss the joke, remarking that he already knew most people around, and Greg would chuckle and backtrack to acknowledge Steven's skill in friend-making.

The Ruby Squad definitely would jump at the chance to ask Steven about if his new friend was nice, and if he liked her in that special way, and when she might come over for a playdate, and all of that jazz. Steven obviously wasn't ready for anything serious, but he was very grateful he got to make friends with her so soon. Without the intervention of Navy, he might've held off on it until much later. And it'd be a shame to miss out on a new friend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone gave me the idea to have Steven meet Connie sooner with the Ruby Squad being the cause, and honestly, I totally bought it as plausible, so here we are!
> 
> (Feels like I'm really going crazy for this story!)


	5. Gem... Woah!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven's favorite ice cream gets discontinued... but luckily, he's able to keep his spirits up with a little 'date' with Connie! Nothing odd will happen there, right?

It had been a year since Steven and Connie had officially met, and even with that short timeframe, this was still the lowest Connie has ever seen him in terms of spirits. You'd think that a loved one had died, or he broke a leg, but it was neither of those things. In fact, it was simply that his favorite ice cream had been discontinued. It was almost something she might laugh about if it weren't happening to someone who she really did like... and she was still mulling over what kind of _like_ that was, but still, Connie felt like she had to treat this with a bit of sensitivity. That was primarily because Steven was a very emotional person.  
  
So, she offered to take him on what she referred to as a 'hang-out session' to take his mind off of things, though in her mind she referred to it as a date. She wished she was brave enough to just call it a date out loud, but she feared she'd get too red to handle that. Plus, she feared that he wasn't ready for anything on that level of seriousness, as she had yet to pick up on if he was returning her feelings. This was partly because she had plenty of her own stuff on the side she needed to work on, like school and pleasing her parents in many aspects, so it made it hard to really go full Sherlock on Steven's level of reciprocation.

Still, things were looking promising for the two of them as they went for their beach stroll. The Ruby Squad promised to be taking care of whatever gem monster happened to be running amok today, saying that Steven deserved time to himself before he had to focus on being a fellow Ruby. (Of course, they used that as a symbolic term- he wasn't actually a Ruby, even if his gem was pretty close to that color). Steven appreciated that they made efforts to make him feel like part of the group even when he wasn't actually engaging in their fun antics- he knew he was at the age that he should start getting serious about Ruby business, but he also knew it wasn't realistic to jump headfirst into that territory.  
  
Soon, a blanket was laid out on the sand, and they'd casually eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while looking at the stars. A boombox sat beside them but they were not quite ready for music. 

"Hey, Connie, can I get real with you?"  
  
She'd frantically drink a glass of milk to wash down her sandwich so she could answer, "Yes, of course!"  
  
"Well, um... it's just, I feel like I'm not doing as well as I should, with the whole Ruby business. I've been trying to fuse for a while and like, I know it's not something you can do on your first try, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong. And I haven't even figured out if I can summon a weapon, like Eyeball can."  
  
Chuckling, Connie replied, "I've seen the way your dad reacts when she takes that knife out, Steven- you should be thankful you don't have anything like that inside you."  
  
"Well, I don't need a knife- I just want something to protect people! What can I do if I'm just an ordinary kid with a weird thing in his belly?"  
  
Putting down her lunch, she would stand up and assure Steven, "You're not ordinary, Steven, you're amazing. And well... I don't know anything about fusing, but you can dance with me if you'd like..."  
  
Steven's cheeks would turn red, and Connie feared she said it all wrong. But then he leaned over to press start on the music track his dad lent him, and he'd stand up to take Connie's hand.  
  
Things felt like a blur after that for both of them, but especially for Connie. A year ago she never anticipated things would go in this direction, but... they were, it was undeniable. The music was soft and slow, fitting for their slow dances and their soft movements long the sand. Eventually they made their way off the small blanket, having the courage to endure the still somewhat warm feeling beneath their feet for the sake of having more room to enjoy each other.  
  
Eventually, Steven would slip, unintentionally being dipped. They'd laugh, and then move closer...  
  
The light from their fusion lit up the dark night enough for the Rubies inside to see and know exactly what happened. Sure, some would deny it at first, but how can one just refuse to believe that a fusion took place? They'd try to make quick work of the Centipeedles, since that was no longer the top priority.

Soon, the five of them would be out on the beach, watching in shock at what had just transpired. Where Connie and Steven once were, enjoying a pleasant evening by the ocean, there was now someone who looked entirely new.  
  
"S-Steven...? Are you... is that... w-what's going on here?!"  
  
Sighing, Leggy admitted in response to Eyeball's freak-out, "I thought I was the only one confused..."  
  
"G-guys, it's okay, I'm- um, I mean Steven's okay! I think he and I- no, he and Connie did something, and-"  
  
Interrupting, Doc would proclaim confidently, "You _fused!_ A human fusing with a gem, this is unprecedented!"

"Yeah, and it's wr-"  
  
Immediately, Eyeball's mouth would be covered by multiple hands, and she'd appear confused as to what the deal with that was.   
  
This new fusion-created person would watch as their gem guardians formed a circle to whisper about this turn of events, clearly quite unsure of what to make of this situation as a unit.   
  
Finally, they'd turn back, and Navy would proclaim with passion in her eyes, "You are absolutely beautiful!"  
  
"We did not agree on starting with that, but yes, they are," Doc would state calmly before continuing as so: "Although we don't really um, entirely understand how you are able to exist, we are supportive and willing to learn as much as we can so we can make you as happy as possible! So, first things first, what do we call you?"  
  
Tapping their foot a bit, they'd respond, "Well... I'm Steven mixed with Connie, so... I guess Stevonnie?"

"That sounds like the name of a real fighter!" Army proclaimed with the flex of a muscle, evoking some chuckles all around.   
  
Eyeball would step over to Stevonnie and put a hand on their leg, looking a bit downtrodden, and soon admit, "I... I've been taught for a while that fusion was only a thing between two gems of the same kind. But then again... Homeworld didn't teach me anything near as valuable as what Steven could in the time I've known him. So I don't care anymore what I remember back then- this is a new start, and you're going to help me learn what I've been missing!"  
  
Stevonnie beamed, clearly quite happy to hear this support, and they'd go skedaddling off with intent to learn what it's like to be this new person. The Rubies could not be more proud of the steps Steven was taking in learning to be a real Ruby... though they'd need to find a way to break this news to Greg, who slept through it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if Steven met Connie sooner, why not have them FUSE sooner? And yeah, title is a lazy pun, but I'm rarely going to be revisiting entire episode plots anyway. (And yes, I do believe that Cookie Cats still gets discontinued regardless of which gem is on Earth.)


	6. Honorary Ruby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ruby Squad goes on a mission to the Prime Kindergarten, and Steven comes too! 
> 
> Things get weird.

"W-wait, dad said I'm already up to middle school, why do I need to go to kindergarten now...?"  
  
As Navy snickered in amusement, Doc would try to explain in the most serious way possible, "You're not going to _that_ kind of Kindergarten, we all know you're very smart, Steven. The kind of kindergarten we're going to is a place where gems used to be made before uh... well, your mom came and said it wasn't okay to do."  
  
"Oh... um, why wasn't it okay?"  
  
Leggy would lean in close to listen to the explanation, and Eyeball would cut in, soon explaining, "Eh, I guess she didn't like them making plants die so that gems would be made. I was too busy on the battlefield to care about that, though! ...I mean, until now, obviously."  
  
"Yeah, and now we gotta go and see if there's anything screwing around with the Prime Kindergarten! And if there is, we're gonna make them feel sorry!" Army proclaimed, punching the air at a rapid speed.  
  
Placing a hand on the fight-loving Ruby's shoulder, Navy assured her, "I'm sure we won't need to do anything violent, we could always just ask them politely!"  
  
"I like that idea!" Steven exclaimed with a bright smile "So, when do we head out? Because I just got this new backpack that I bet could really come in handy..."  
  
They all looked toward Doc, who would simply give a shrug and assure him, "We can wait for you to prepare."

He grinned and rushed to pack his things into his cheeseburger backpack, like a flashlight, some snacks, a rubber hammer for some harmless protection, a stuffed animal in case he got too scared, a blanket if it got cold... he was definitely overpreparing, but Doc had to admire his tenacity, and Navy just found it fun to watch.  
  
Soon, they all followed Doc's lead, and... well, since Rubies aren't particularly fast, they would use the still-running train for a nice shortcut. It almost felt like one of those road trips Greg used to take Steven on when he was younger, back when he still had a good amount of his rockstar money on him. Being out in nature with nobody else but the family he's managed to gather through pure chance... yeah, it was really nice.

Of course, it would not exactly be a quick trip to get there. Even by train, they still needed to cover a bit of distance, so it would be around two and a half hours before they got there. Once the train came to a stop and they stepped out to observe the Prime Kindergarten, the sun was a bit lower in the sky, and Steven needed a pinch on the shoulder to make sure he'd stay awake. 

"O-ow! H-hey, I'm awake!"

With a giggle, Navy remarked, "I know, just playing. But it's time to look at the Prime Kindergarten!"

"Um... is this really the place...?"

Steven seemed more hesitant now than he did before they left, and not for no reason- the place had a very eerie feel to it, with a fog covering most of the ground, the rocky walls being barren of any plantlife and covered in giant people-shaped holes, and strange metallic structures either were stuck in the sides of the canyon or were in jagged pieces.

Not fazed by the sight, Army assured him with a grunt, "Don't worry, nothin' can hurt ya that I can't punch!"

"Oh, well... thanks!" he'd reply, chucking nervously at the well-meaning but sort of odd promise. 

With he and Leggy in the back, Doc in the front, and the other three scattered in the middle, the gang began to walk through the Prime Kindergarten in search of anything fishy.

As he began to put on his jacket due to the lowering temperatures, Steven questioned, "What made you think something might be up with the Kindergarten?"

"Eh, just a guess, honestly," Doc responded, before glancing and seeing Eyeball shake a little. "Soldier, are you cold...?"

The one-eyed gem would try to straighten up, responding quickly, "I-I'm okay!"

Thinking that maybe Eyeball might be more anxious to be here than she originally portrayed, Steven walked over to her and would offer to hold her hand to make the walk more comfortable. She'd oblige, pretending she was just doing it to make Steven feel safer, when it was really for her own benefit at least just as much.

"O-oh my goodness...!"

Letting out a sigh, Doc questioned, "Is there something important I need to know...?"

"Yes! I found a bird!" Navy exclaimed, tearing up with happiness as she pointed to the unidentified winged creature. 

Steven found her excitement at the Earth animal to be very admirable, while Doc seemed annoyed they were getting off track of their... admittedly vague mission. However, Army seemed to take this the wrong way...

Growling, the aggressive Ruby proclaimed, "No bird is going to hurt my Ruby Squad!"

"N-no, don't, you'll make them sad...!" Navy exclaimed, jumping but failing to grab Army before she could start chasing after them, vanishing into the fog.

Hands in her face, Doc groaned, "How are we ever going to get back on track if everyone starts running around by themselves...?"

"Hm... hey, maybe me and Eyeball can get her back!" Steven offered with a smile. 

The Ruby leader would think about this before responding, "Yeah, I guess so. Just... be careful."

After getting a nod from Eyeball herself, the two would begin to venture into the fog where they remembered Army running. 

Eventually, they'd find the canyon wall, and hear Army making some annoyed and slightly panicked noises from within a hole near the ground.

"G-get offa me, you weirdo....!"

Eyeball and Steven would go in together, glancing around... and then finding that Army had been pinned to the ground by a growling purple gem, looking to be just slightly taller than the Rubies.

Summoning her knife, she would try to shake off her nerves and exclaim, "Get away from my teammate!"

"Hey, we don't need to do anything violent," Steven whispered, as he watched the mysterious gem look at the blade and back off in fear.

Apologetically, Eyeball would put the knife away, and Steven would begin to approach this strange gem with interest. 

Giving a compassionate smile, he'd promise, "I don't want to hurt you, whoever you are... in fact, I think I could help you. You don't wanna be alone, right...?"

"A-Alone..."

The purple gem repeated the word in a choked tone, both due to tears and due to not being used to speaking.

Whispering to Eyeball, Army would question, "Are we really going to...?"

"That's Doc's choice. But yeah, probably."

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, how long did you think I was gonna go without bringing in ol' Amethyst?


	7. Will You Do the Honors?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Right where we left off, the Ruby Squad gets to know their new friend, and tries to get them used to being in the gang.

The trip out of this hole in the canyon and in the direction where they best remembered the rest of the squad being was quite an interesting one, where clearly they wanted to speak on the oddity of this situation but felt like it might be a tad tactless to do in front of the main cause of the strangeness.

However, Steven wasn't exactly the best at observing tact, so he'd turn to Eyeball and ask in a tone a tad too loud, "Do you know what kind of gem she is?"  
  
"U-um, well... I think I do, but..."  
  
Suddenly, they'd come to a stop when they bumped right into the other three, leading to a moment of confusion and disorientation. A complaint would be muttered regarding this thick fog; the purple gem would then make herself even more noticeable, proceeding to stand up, take in a deep breath, and blow with enough force to cause the fog to drift away and make it much easier to see.  
  
A silence passed before Leggy questioned without much grace, "Who is _that_?"

"Who is _that_?" she responded, as she proceed to shapeshift to resemble Leggy, leading to a moment of bewilderment... before everyone grew quite amused.  
  
Doc, with a confident expression, would state, "This is quite a moment for the Ruby Squad! We just found ourselves a one-of-a-kind, vintage Quartz soldier! She looks to be an Amethyst, and a slightly overcooked one, but who says that height is what matters in a soldier? I think she's gonna be a real great addition to the Squad!"  
  
"W-wait, is that it...? We're just letting her join us without even an interrogation?!" Army questioned, looking frustrated that the gem that just pounced on her was getting treated like a party guest. "She woulda poofed me if Steven wasn't there!"  
  
With a coy smile, Navy responded, "Oh, no wonder- Steven _is_ the compassionate one, after all! Guess all she really needs is a bit of love~"  
  
"T-that... sounds fair, actually," the aggressive gem muttered, glancing to the side awkwardly.  
  
Eyeball, with a bit of amusement, admitted as she fiddled with her knife, "I don't know if this is appropriate to say, but it is odd to be admitting someone new into the Ruby Squad when we've been such a solid unit for so long..."  
  
"Aw, don't worry about it, 1F4! I mean, Leggy only joined the group like twelve years ago, so it's not like entry is that strict. And with her being a Quartz soldier, she's practically a cousin or something!"   
  
Doc's words were quite motivational, although Steven took a second to wonder to himself what "1F4" meant- did it stand for something, or was it just a random nickname?

Whatever, not like that was the most pressing matter. Time to get back to the Ruby Squad residence and get this new member to feel welcome as heck!

They'd take the train once more back to Beach City, finding that it was relaxing enough on the way there, and it was a fairly reliable method of travel. Obviously it was going to be fairly dark when they got there, and the Rubies had expectations that Greg would be fairly worried. Sure, they did make sure to tell him that it'd be a bit before they got back and that they could handle anything dangerous, but he was still a father looking after a kid who cried about snakes; it was only inevitable he'd get stressed when he was out of the house for an extended period of time. And it definitely didn't help matters that they'd be showing up with someone completely unfamiliar who was like a mix between a scared child and a rabid dog.

As they traveled on the train back to the not-so-safe haven they called home, though, those thoughts sort of settled into a neat place in the back of their minds. It was much more enjoyable to think about how lucky they were to have each other, and how nice it was to no longer live by the rules of someone who viewed them as expendable. Not that there weren't still some complicated feelings about leaving Homeworld behind- that was to be expected. When you leave the place that you had thought for so long was perfectly put together, it isn't instantaneously going to feel like everything is better.

Looking at Steven as he slept, though- even when he was sleeping next to someone who was undeniably worrisome when it came to what level of danger they'd bring to Beach City- definitely made things feel slightly more certain. Heck, Rose Quartz certainly had the right idea caring about Earth so much... it appeared that anywhere that the Diamonds hadn't touched had grown to become so beautiful, no matter what direction you're looking. And this beautiful place was serving as what felt like the right one for someone like Steven.

The train would come to a slow stop and they'd nudge Steven and his seemingly new friend awake so they could hop off and get reacquainted with walking and all that, and even the Rubies themselves felt it hard to get used to standing up straight after so long of relaxing their somewhat sore legs. It was hard to believe that these mostly hardened soldiers could get relaxed to that point, as it was something that would get them punished back on Homeworld. Not that they really enjoyed thinking back on those days anyway...

"Okay, Steven, uh... do you think we should tell Greg about the Amethyst first, or..."

Interrupting, Navy questioned Doc, "Shouldn't we just call her Amethyst, and not THE Amethyst? I don't know, it sounds dehumanizing to refer to her like a specimen..."

"Well, none of us are humans, but I get your point-"

Suddenly, Greg Universe was spotted running out from the car wash and collapsing in exhaustion, before climbing back up so he could give Steven a hug, clearly having been stressed about whether his son was currently safe.

With a soft sigh, he'd ask Steven, "Are you okay, did you get a cold, or-?"

"It's okay dad, I brought my jacket, and nothing bad happened! Oh, and we met someone new- her name is Amethyst!"

He'd gesture toward the gem in question, who appeared to be mimicking Steven's movements and expressions, but she'd sort of back off and become a tad shyer upon noticing eyes were on her.

Looking quite curious about this, Greg would straighten up and remark, "Heh, definitely not a Ruby, I guess!"

"Well, we're making her an honorary member of the Squad! If Steven can be part of it, so can she!" Doc proclaimed, putting an arm around Amethyst... and then squealing upon having her arm get suddenly bitten.

A mix of concern and amusement would spread to the others watching as she'd try to berate Amethyst for doing that, only for her to skedaddle off to avoid being faced with consequences, leading to Doc feeling embarrassed and a tad upset.

Turning back to Greg, Steven asked, "Is it okay if I go get Amethyst back? I was able to calm her down before and convince her to come back with us, maybe I can do it now."

"Son, you can do anything you want if you put you heart and soul into it, but just remember there's no shame if you feel you need to ask for help! But uh, I'm not really an expert on Gem stuff, so probably go for the Rubies for that."

He'd give a nod and rush to find Amethyst and get her back, soon finding that she was attempting to get inside Big Donut... but had failed to realize that she was supposed to pull the door open, not push.

Giving a light chuckle, Steven would ask her with a smile, "You want to try your first donut?"

"...donut?"

Feeling even more excited now, he opened the door for her and lead her inside, where she'd be dazzled by the sight of the place... but soon be hit with a wave of sugary sweet scents that would cause her mouth to water. She'd tear up a bit, realizing just how much she's missed out on from being in that foggy and lifeless Kindergarten all her life.

Not thinking she had grown any preferences just yet, he'd get her the same donut he always got, and as he watched her mimic his manner of eating and slowly realize that you were supposed to swallow the donuts, he'd feel more and more confident that she was truly part of the squad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I never fulfilled the last chapter's title of making Amethyst an honorary Ruby. Well, this chapter hopefully does that!
> 
> To be honest, this chapter feels really special to me, because when I first wrote my take on Amethyst pre-Crystal Gems in The Peridot Effect, it was all the way back in October of 2019- a mere month after Steven Universe: The Movie. Truth be told, while I am proud of that story, I always felt like I really shoehorned a lot of things in there due to writing it before the movie came out and wanting to include things like Spinel and whatnot. However, I am feeling very proud of this fanfiction, since I get to have the full context of the entire timeline in mind while going piece by piece in having Steven and the Rubies learn more about themselves.


	8. Ruby: Normal Monogamous Mom!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie flubs a bit, leading to Steven having to try and convince her parents that the Rubies are all one person.
> 
> No, not with fusion, silly. We're doing this the sitcom way!

"Nuclear family? That seems a tad harsh..."  
  
Chuckling at his ignorance on the term, Connie would explain, "No, it means a traditional family- one mom, one dad, and up to three kids."  
  
"Sooo... is the issue that I don't have enough kids, or...?"  
  
Even more amused now, she'd give him a light push and tease, "You're too silly, Steven! It's that you have five moms! Not that it's a bad thing, but... they are pretty traditional, and they already took a few months to adjust to the fact that you have a thing in your belly button."  
  
"A few months? Wow, that's faster than I took to adjust. Okay, so either we tell your parents that you lied to them, or we'll have to find a way around this..."  
  
He'd soon approach his Ruby Squad moms, deciding to explain the situation, with Connie standing by and observing their minute differences.  
  
Scratching her chin, Doc questioned, "So, you thought it was wise to lie to your guardians? Isn't that a shameful thing for humans?"  
  
"Humans do it more than you'd expect, but yeah, I'm a bit ashamed."  
  
Raising a fist, Eyeball exclaimed, "We need to help Steven so that he can continue his friendship! He needs a strong ally!"  
  
"Yes, and I didn't get to teach Connie how to punch yet!" Army proclaimed, punching the air as if she was trying to win a fight with it, and Connie was definitely not sure how to feel about potentially going from tennis to boxing...  
  
It would take a few minutes to get everyone on the same page, since the Rubies got distracted easily, but Steven soon hatched a plan that he thought would be rather simple. First, he'd need to coordinate for the Rubies to all wear the same outfit, and one that would cover their gems- that included wearing large black-tinted shades. Then, he'd need to get them to handle saying some pretty simple lines that mothers would say, which included practicing with Greg. He was a bit put off by this whole scheme but just assumed that after this they'd never have to have the Rubies meet the Maheswarans again. 

Soon, the family would arrive! All he needed to do was have the Rubies draw straws on who would go first, and they'd be alternating throughout the night depending on when they felt like they needed a break from... well, pretending to to be someone they sort of weren't. And Army was always the competitive one and thus made sure she got the winning straw!

She'd come out giving pretty thorough handshakes to the parents, and overacting a bit in her whole "I love my husband" shtick, to the point that even this loving married couple felt it was a tad bit strong. However, she began to falter with personal questions, as she prepared more for the basics than the actual improvisation. She kept looking toward Steven to get help, but since she had the shades on, she needed to tilt her head toward him to signal, and that made things look a bit awkward.  
  
It was only five minutes into the dinner that she tagged herself out, and soon Navy came in with a flourish of the hand. She briefly forgot that they were already introduced and would shake the parents' hand and greet them with a kiss on their palms, while proclaiming that "you have quite the looovely daughter." Steven felt like he could die internally as Navy gushed about how much Steven was already wanting to marry Connie, but hey, she did play this mother role well. The Maheswaran parents were not dull, however, and would begin to ask questions that would make her falter and fail to match Army's barely feasible story.   
  
She lasted slightly longer before tagging out, but all bets were off when Leggy was the next one up. She was naturally confused, having this whole plan thrown on her when she barely understood why it was happening, and she carried that energy with her the whole time. "When did you two meet?" "I can't remember." "What was your first dance?" "Uh, I don't know how to dance." "How are your parents?" "I don't know...?" By the end of her turn, which was far too long to really make anyone feel safe in this, she was feeling like she could poof from the pressure.  
  
As Leggy went inside and the next Ruby prepared to emerge, Connie's father would scoff and remark, "Greg, I don't mean to make this sound impolite, but your wife really has an issue of coming and going right when the conversation is getting interesting."  
  
"Eheheh, you know how wives can be, never knowing what they want..."  
  
Priyanka would definitely not take that well, but would simply move onto her line of questioning: "And on the subject of your wife Ruby, is she always this... emotional? One minute she's approaching us aggressively, then she's being all sweet and gentle, then she seems like she's scared! If I didn't know any better, Greg...

There was a brief moment of tension, as they feared the worst from her mouth...  
  
"Oh, come on darling, it's not nice to accuse people of mental issues when they're not in the room! It can't be that serious, this might just be a rough day for her."  
  
Everyone let out a silent sigh, but then the nervousness would be welcomed back as Eyeball came out!  
  
She was quite a mixed bag, being scary on the outside, anxious on the inside, and having an actual knife. She spent her whole turn at the table acting suspicious of the parents, sometimes even turning questions around on them.  
  
For instance, Priyanka would ask, "Is there something wrong that's causing you to keep leaving like that?"  
  
Then, Eyeball shot back: "Is there something wrong that's making you two wanna keep my son away from your daughter? You know how that turned out for the Capulets and the Montagues, don't ya?"  
  
While Connie appreciated that the Rubies took her advice to read up on human literature, she did not anticipate them using it for these types of confrontations...  
  
Finally, Doc would step up to bat... and promptly struck out. They were the leader of the Rubies, so it was somewhat humorously fitting that they lead the charge in being bad at small-talk and pretending to be the one singular mom of Greg Universe. At one point, the Maheswarans chastised the 'couple' for not acting loving enough, urging them to give each other a kiss to prove it.   
  
Slowly, Greg and Doc leaned toward each other... only for Doc's new black shades to fall off, revealing the other pair of glasses she forgot to remove.  
  
"...why do you wear two glasses?"  
  
This was the straw to break the camel's back, as she'd rip off the itchy dress she was wearing to reveal her suspenders, exclaiming with distress, "I can't handle this lie...!!"  
  
The Maheswarans stood up in shock as the other four Rubies ran out looking equally as unhappy with themselves, all five trying to explain why they were lying and what the truth was, and Steven needing to clap above his head to calm them down.  
  
"...okay, one person just explain what is happening and I'll try to understand..." Doug muttered.  
  
Clearing her throat, Connie admitted, "I um, panicked and said that Steven lived in a nuclear family, because I thought you wouldn't like him if he wasn't traditional... so he tried to think of a way around it, since he has five near-identical moms."  
  
"If we're being completely honest, even though you all look very similar, we could tell something was off," Priyanka admitted with a slight smirk.  
  
Chuckling, Doug would comment with a point toward Leggy, "I was tipped off by you in particular."  
  
"Um... okay," Leggy would respond, glancing away shyly.  
  
Confused, Connie asked, "Why aren't you guys like, mad or something...?"  
  
"Connie, if this was something like... you lying about going to the library and then winding up at some crazy party, then you'd be in trouble for sure. But you lied because you cared about your friend, and... well, this was just kind of cute. Steven's moms, and his dad too, all really love him, and that's all that matters in a family."  
  
She teared up and hugged her parents, and Steven was soon bombarded with a five... no, six person group hug, including his moms and his dad.  
  
Sure, Greg wasn't going to be seen giving any of the Rubies kisses or anything, but that didn't mean they weren't still a family! And he was proud to have a family as weird and fun as this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spun a wheel to see what plot point to cover first from season one, going over things that occurred without the Crystal Gems specifically. And I thought this was a fun way to twist this episode.


	9. Steven Learns a Shape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knowing nothing but square moms all his life, it certainly shakes Steven's world to see a triangle-shaped person in his vision!

Steven would let out a sigh, repeatedly stepping on the Warp Pad but finding he was unable to get it to work.  
  
"Man, how can I be a good Ruby if I can't warp...?"  
  
With intense confidence, Doc assured him, "It takes everyone a bit of time to get used to it! Ya just need to have patience! Hm, maybe it'd help for you to visualize a place you wanna be..."  
  
"Hm, well you guys haven't really taken me a lot of places... oh wait, we went to the Kindergarten, maybe try there!"  
  
The Rubies glanced at each other, surprised Steven was wanting to go back to that foggy barren place, but soon they'd shrug and give approval.   
  
For a moment, the Ruby-in-training considered bringing along Amethyst, but she was having a good time listening to Greg play music, and he realized she might not want back to the place she's been for the last... well, the entirety of her life. So, the Rubies surrounded him in a protective formation and he began to concentrate as much as he could...

With a dramatic flourish of his hands, he'd find that they were lifting off of the ground! It was so incredible to him, doing something like this for the very first time that he knew the Ruby Squad has done for their entire lives! What an incredible experience this was indeed~   
  
...wait, was there something in one of those streams? Like, some kind of weird orb?  
  
Straining to turn his head with the speed he was being sent upward, he'd ask the Ruby Squad, "D-Do you guys something in that stream...?"  
  
"Huh, see wha-?" Eyeball asked, glancing over and soon spotting the same thing he did. "O-oh my, it's a... I don't know what it is, but it's definitely from Homeworld!"  
  
Soon, all the Rubies would turn and begin to gasp and guffaw at what they were seeing before they came to an abrupt stop at the Prime Kindergarten. They were almost _disappointed_ when they stopped, since they had become so fixated on this strange object.  
  
Looking quite excited, he'd question, "Do you guys know what that is? Should we be worried?"  
  
"Hm, dunno, could be something bad or cool. Wait, I see something...!"  
  
With a point, Army would signal that there was some sort of weird escape pod-looking thing in the ground, and out of it emerged several round robots with tiny legs that were crawling toward the Warp Pad they were standing on.  
  
Grinning eagerly, Steven pleaded, "Let's save the lesson stuff for later, I wanna follow them!"  
  
"As the leader, it's my responsibility to do what's best for you... so I say let's follow this weird thing!"   
  
Everyone cheered for Doc's proposal, even Leggy- who was the least understanding of what was going on! They'd wait and allow themselves to be taken where they wanted to go, all while feeling very optimistic about what was soon to happen.   
  
In an instant, they were taken to the Galaxy Warp! What an odd place to be taken by a couple of little robots!  
  
Rubbing her chin, Eyeball admitted as she watched them move, "It looks like they are really wantin' to do something, but I've been more of a fighting gem than a tech gem, so..."  
  
Of course, it'd be easily observable soon what they were doing- they started to squirt some liquid onto the cracks on the Galaxy Warp Pad itself, which would slowly begin to seal these cracks until it looked almost as good as it did thousands of years ago! Then, it would activate...  
  
Steven was quite astonished by what... no, _who_ he saw standing there. They were quite literally unlike anyone he's ever met, although that was not exactly saying much- he's seen paintings of his birth-mom, known his Ruby moms for his whole life, and has witnessed weird gem monsters get fought and poofed, so he didn't get a ton of exposure to other varieties of actual gems.  
  
The most noticeable feature of her was that triangle-shaped head, though.  
  
"Log date 312. This is Peridot, performing Earth hub maintenance check."

It was exciting to hear her name to Steven, but he could tell that the rest of the Rubies were excited too, clearly never meeting someone who looked like Peridot before. 

Now they just eagerly awaited what she might be here for, as they tried to keep hidden...

Continuing to speak as she entered information onto her floating fingers, she'd explain, "Warp repair a success. All 79 Flask Robonoids deployed and accounted for. Preparing to locate and manually reactivate Kindergarten..."

She'd trail off, as she'd eventually hear the sound of soft gasping and turn to see a bunch of square afros poking out from behind a large (but definitely not large enough) rock. 

"...I don't think she saw us, we're good..."

The rock would soon explode due to her firing a blast of energy from her fingers that destroyed it, and all six of them- the Rubies and Steven himself- would jump up in shock.

Confused as heck right now, Peridot would question, "What are you doing here, and with a human? Is he... your prisoner?"

"We are Rubies who are conducting a long-term mission! And this is our... son, Steven!" Doc explained, tearing up happily as she called Steven her son for what was probably the first time to someone besides Greg.

This did not help her confusion much, and she'd quickly shoot an accusation: "You're part of that traitorous group of radical gems lead by Rose Quartz, aren't you? We haven't seen her in ages, but it only figures you'd still be snooping around..."

"Oh, we're not Crystal Gems, I promise! Honestly, I barely even know anything about that... I mean, my mom WAS Rose Quartz, but I haven't really heard of anything she's done besides killing Pink Diamond."

Blinking a few times, Peridot sighed, "This only further complicates things... so you AREN'T Crystal Gems, but a group of Rubies sent to Earth on some sort of mission, but this child is the son of the one who betrayed Homeworld? Do you expect me to trust this?"

"Hey, I saw Pink Diamond get shattered with my own eyes, don't accuse me of being some sort of Crystal Gem! I raised this boy cuz he deserved a good life with a family of his own, not because I wanted to make Rose happy!" Eyeball proclaimed, using her knife to make some pretty reckless gestures, although none of them did anything to actually cause harm.

After a moment of consideration, Peridot concluded, "I believe your story is convincing."

"Okay, now let us ask you somethin'- what are you saying about this 'reactivate the Kindergarten' stuff?"

She'd soon promptly explain herself: "The Diamonds wish to activate the Kindergarten, thus allowing for the Cluster to reemerge so that it will promptly... well, destroy the Earth. I have reservations on the project, but I will be shattered if I do not comply."

"Destroying the Earth? But... we live here," Leggy muttered, a bit confused by this revelation.

Rolling her eyes, Peridot would ask, "Why not just leave? Homeworld is most likely looking for-"

"Don't you dare. We were sent here twelve years ago, and Homeworld hasn't come looking for us since, and won't be starting now. That tells us all we need to know about where we belong. And if the Diamonds would really shatter you for going against a plan as ridiculous as destroying an entire beautiful planet, they obviously don't care about you either."

Seconds would pass before Peridot raised her arms up and begin charging a blast, dismissively stating in a cold voice, "And here I thought I wasn't speaking to rebels..."

"Ruby Squad, fusion time!" Doc exclaimed, and Peridot would be confused as they'd form a pyramid...

Then, they'd form what Steven often called their Mega Mom formed, and would grab Peridot before she could escape and squeeze her until she poofed!

Sighing, Navy remarked as she bubbled her and sent her away, "At least we took care of that..."

"Uh, guys, what is this?"

Everyone would soon turn their attention toward something that Leggy had coincidentally found on the ground- a hand-held mirror that had a tear-shaped gem in the back with a small crack on it.

This caused everyone to murmur with confusion and intrigue, with Eyeball being the first to give a guess: "It must be some sort of cruel form of imprisonment for one of Homeworld's enemies..."

"...well uh, we should let her out, right?" Steven asked.

Everyone gave a very quick nod, and they'd hand the mirror over to Steven and let him do the quite intriguing honors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm playing fast and loose with the order of events, why not get Peridot in on the action now?
> 
> Also, don't expect Rubies to be going "get off our planet, Homeworld scum"- they're not exactly anti-Homeworld as they are pro-Earth.
> 
> Oh, and Lapis being in the mirror coincidentally by the Galaxy Warp really works out!


	10. Red, Meet Blue.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, this isn't Team Fortress- you won't see the Red Team trying to hurt this Blue! 
> 
> Well, as long as they get along, at least.

Steven dramatically held the mirror above his head as he proceeded to remove the teardrop-shaped gem from the mirror, hoping for the best possible outcome to this- meaning, that whoever he was letting out of this mirror was going to be someone who was nice and not someone who was mean. Of course, it felt like anything could happen, since the gem that they had previously encountered went from calm to almost-murdering just because the Rubies cared about the planet. However, there was no way he'd just leave her stuck in there just out of fear of something bad happening.

Soon, the tear-drop gem was pulled from its prison, and it would float out of his palm and into the air while glowing a bright white. Then, a human-like form began to take shape, and it was clear that this was going to be someone significantly taller than Ruby, and at least a bit taller than Steven. Another thing easy to observe as she began to take her form was that she had quite the cute dress which was far different than what the Rubies wore- more going for stuff like shorts and sleeveless shirts.

Finally, her colors emerged from the glow! Her dress and hair matched the blue tone of her gem, while her skin appeared a much darker tone. Notably, she appeared to be barefoot, which Steven surmised might mean she doesn't need to do a lot of walking- otherwise she'd want something to cover her feet and avoid getting any blisters.

"H-Hello?"

In response to the greeting, she'd gasp and turn her head to face the group watching her- the five Rubies, and one who seemed to be primarily a human. Her eyes appeared like TV static, which was a strange and shocking sight for all of them.

Trying to stand up as best as she could, she'd respond meekly, "H-Hello, I... I'm Lapis Lazuli. Who are you? Why did you let me out?"

"Why wouldn't I let you out? I mean, I know I don't know you, but there's no good reason you'd be in there."

This statement was definitely self-explanatory to everyone involved, but Lapis did still seem quite surprised, as she'd question, "Are you, um... are you rebels, Crystal Gems?"

"Not really, no. But I guess you're not the first to assume that," Doc responded. "We came to Earth twelve years ago on a mission to weed out anyone resisting the will of the Diamonds, but... we found a new mission."

The statement confused her, but she soon turned toward Steven, and the gears began to turn.

Letting out a sigh, she'd admit, "This is all so confusing. I was imprisoned for so long because Homeworld mistook me for being a Crystal Gem, and they wanted information from me that I didn't have... b-but I don't understand why a group of Rubies would be so willing to abandon the cause they were created for because of a human. Not that I don't like humans, but well..."

"I understand, miss Lazuli. We're still trying to figure this out ourselves," Eyeball assured Lapis. "First things first, you seem to have a real bad crack in your gem. Wanna see if we can help with that?"

Lapis would blush lightly at how her injury was figured out so fast before she made mention of it, and she'd give a quick nod in response, clearly wanting to have it mended before trying to figure out the next step of her life.

They would warp quickly to where the Rubies recalled having found a great source of healing potential. Between when the war ended and when Rose Quartz gave her life to create Steven, she clearly had a lot of free time on her hands, and didn't just plop in one place until she felt like she wanted to have a child. No, as the Rubies would discover, she wanted to leave a mark on this planet whether or not anyone remembered her for it. Her passion for life, both organic and gem, was something that nobody could deny, and so it did make a tad bit of sense she wanted to find a way to help those injured long after she wasn't there physically.

So, she created a simple but large fountain, her name written underneath in cursive writing, and a statue built in a way that was pretty... well, impressionist, rather than realist. 

"Wow, I had no idea that my mom had healing tears! And I know she's not technically my mom anymore since she wasn't around to raise me, but I feel weird just calling her Rose, you know? But do you guys think I might have the power to heal, in some way? I wanna be able to be a powerful Ruby, and I know it might be cheating if I use powers from her, but-"

Placing a finger on his mouth, Doc assured him, "You're powerful in your own way, Steven. Plus, you're still half-human, don't push yourself or anything."

"Yeah, that's my job," Army remarked, giving a playful shove... that did manage to knock him to the ground, although he would laugh it off despite the pain.

Lapis Lazuli gave a snicker at their antics before slowly beginning to lower into the fountain, shivering at first from just how cold it was. At least it was preferable to if it was particularly warm, but any temperature was a bit hard to adjust to for someone who's been unable to feel those sorts of things for so long.

The Rubies would all watch with excitement as her gem eventually became submerged, and she'd let out a gasp from the way it felt for the crack to become magically mended. The static in her eyes began to clear away until one could see those incredible blue pupils. Her own tears would add to the fountain's, but they were not meant as a way to increase any healing factor- she was just expressing how immensely grateful she was due to being given this chance to sort of start over.

Turning to the Ruby Squad, she'd tell them with a soft smile, "T-thank you for doing this. I don't know what to say, or do to make this worth it for you..."

"Hm... it's up to you, but maybe you could move in! We sort of need someone around who can, uh, fly. Not that you have to live WITH us, but at least in town, maybe?"

Steven's offer was pretty convincing to the directionless Lapis, and soon, one more gem would make Beach City even weirder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I pick what the next chapter is by random, but there was no way I wasn't going to continue directly off of the Lapis plot-line. 
> 
> Next chapter could be anything from: continuing the Lapis storyline, unbubbling Peridot, more Amethyst getting used to living in Beach City, Steven unlocking some of his undiscovered powers, meeting Lion...
> 
> ...yeah, a lot of things.


	11. Panthera Le-Oh My Gosh!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Lapis is enjoying Beach City, Steven decides to go on a non-watery adventure to the desert, but definitely comes back with more than expected.

Things were shaping up to be far stranger in Beach City, with Amethyst and now Lapis Lazuli as residents. She had no real qualms with hanging around the house made for Steven, Greg, and the Rubies, but that was mostly because she had no need for eating or sleeping. Of course, she was definitely not against the concept of sleep, but she would need to train herself to get used to the idea.

Having another new friend didn't mean Steven wanted to slow down his adventures, though! He felt like it would be a great idea to go on a real hardcore adventure to test his abilities, and the Ruby Squad had an idea in mind- a trip to the desert, where they may encounter some crazy critters and find some really interesting space artifacts!  
  
...for some reason, though, he didn't anticipate the heat being _this_ bad...  
  
"Don't worry, Steven, sweat is just weakness leaving the body! And let's just say I'm getting really strong right now!" Army exclaimed, sweating quite a bit as she trudged along through the sands.  
  
Gasping, he'd mutter a weak complaint: "I-I just wish I remembered to bring a water bottle..."  
  
"A water bottle...? Ooh yeah, I got one of those stored in my gem, it never hurts to be prepared~" Navy proclaimed, soon summoning the item forth.  
  
The thirsty boy would grab it quickly and begin to gulp the water up, although he'd pause to make sure nobody else wanted it before continuing to drink.  
  
They'd all stop in their tracks simultaneously, causing Steven to bump into Doc and knock both of them over when they heard the sound of footsteps a bit in the distance that was accompanied by what seemed to be strange growling noises.  
  
Letting out a gasp, Steven proclaimed, "Oh gosh, are we about to be attacked by a coyote?!"  
  
"I don't think there are coyotes in the desert, but I guess Earth is pretty weird... anyway, don't worry Steven, we'll make sure no harm comes to you!"  
  
After making this remark, Doc would lead the Rubies to form a tight circle around him as if they were a protective shield. He'd blush and chuckle a bit bashfully, flattered that they'd feel the need to protect him that much, although part of him just got more insecure realizing how much progressive he's yet to make with his gem abilities

Immediately following this, it would be made clear that there seemed to be a very different color in the desert than normal approaching them- a splash of pink standing out among the yellow sand and grey rocks. The creature looked to be a lion, and while the notion of a lion in a place lacking in any fauna was a bit strange, it could not be denied what was in front of them. And wow, its eyes were actually glowing!  
  
The Rubies would begin to chatter amongst themselves about how dangerous it looked and how strange it was to see an Earth creature of such a color, but Steven would slowly drift his eyes down and lift his shirt to expose his gem- its color matching the lion's mane. Looking back up, he'd begin to push through the Rubies' self-made barrier in order to approach the animal.  
  
Seeming quite concerned, Eyeball urged, "S-Steven, you can't...!"  
  
"It's okay, I have a feeling..."

He'd begin to walk closer to the lion with his hand outstretched, and at first, it appeared to be hesitant to meet this gesture with any warmness. Well, that would be meant in a figurative sense- the lion's fur was bound to be quite warm given their location. No, what was being indicated was that the large feline was slow to answer Steven's greeting with a similar kind one. For that reason, the Rubies looked like they were ready to jump at the chances to save Steven if he needed rescuing from this situation...!

However, rescuing was not something that would be necessary for this situation, as soon the lion would rub their face against Steven's palm, even closing their eyes as a gesture of trust that Steven would not harm them.

"Aww... they're like a big kitty..."

Piping up, Doc would admit with an awkward tone, "Uh, I do believe the Lion is male... for biological reasons..."

"...huh? Oh, yeah, right. But still, isn't he cute?"

Leggy, looking quite confused, would ask, "W-why is the lion being so friendly...? I thought lions were uh, really aggressive..."

"Hm, well, Steven's mom was Rose Quartz, and she was really pink, and this Lion is pink... maybe they have a connection?"

This simple observation from Eyeball, given with a casual shrug, would get everyone to start cheering and praising her brilliant mind, leading the one-eyed Ruby to blush and glance away in shyness at all this attention. The idea of his mom having owned a lion at some point was quite a strange but intriguing one to Steven... but besides her having a really big sword and really loving the Earth, he didn't exactly know that much about his mom.

With a smile, Steven would state, "Whether or not he was mom's, I think he wants to be my lion! Although I gotta give him a name, calling him just 'lion' would get a bit confusing..."

"Here, let me help with that!"

Navy would suddenly toss a book in Steven's direction, and he'd hurriedly catch it to find it was... a book full of baby names.

Confused, he asked, "Why do you just... have that?"

"Eheheh, well, I've often thought about the idea of if I was entrusted to name a child..."

He found his fellow naval-gemmed mom's statement pretty sweet and soon began to flip through the book in search of a fitting name for this lion.

Soon, Steven reached a conclusion: "How about Felix? It means lucky, which is sorta fitting, and even sounds like _feline!"_

None of them had any reservations, they just agreed and began to head back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...yeah I wanted to go for a very strange title and just found the scientific name for a lion. But now Lion is here!
> 
> Someone suggested for me to show the growing dynamic between Amethyst and Lapis, and I think that'd make for a fun fluff chapter in between the big revelations, so let's give that a go!
> 
> (this chapter ends somewhat abruptly 'cuz I didn't know much else to have happened and 1000 words is a nice round number for me. Hope you guys enjoyed the idea of giving Lion a name besides Lion! I myself took less than a minute to land on Felix~)


	12. An Unlikely Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One was trapped in a mirror for far too long, one was left alone in a lifeless Appalachian canyon. Besides that, they aren't that similar...
> 
> But somehow, they're becoming friends.

As the Rubies and Steven went off on their desert adventure, Lapis was trying to get used to her new accommodations. Truly this was going to be very strange for her, going from complete isolation to a comfy house where she could walk where she wanted and do what she wanted... within reason, obviously. At some points even walking around felt strange due to how long she's been immobile, unable to do anything but think and watch the clouds roll by.

Her thoughts would be shifted to the sound of munching in another room, and she'd cautiously move toward the kitchen, hoping this wasn't one of those monsters she's heard about. She missed a whole lot since she got poofed and wanted to be prepared for the worst...

Well, her preparations were useless, as she'd see something far below 'worst' in the rankings of possible situations. There wasn't a dangerous monster in there, but a small purple gem munching on cheese crackers by the handful.

Breaking the awkward silence would be this short person, turning her head toward Lapis and offering a handful of cheesy crumbs while stating, "Cheeese cra-cker."

"Ah, thanks," she'd remark, taking a pinch of cheese and tasting it, finding it was not too bad. "Um, I'm Lapis, Lapis Lazuli. I don't think I've met you yet."

Realizing that this fact was absolutely true, the gem burst out of her chair and rushed in front of Lapis, offering a hand to shake as she greeted, "I'm... Ammmethyst!"

It sounded like she was very excited to merely say her own name, and Lapis would happily shake her hand... and be surprised by how strong Amethyst's grip was. She was practically shaking Lapis's whole body just by performing this simple friendly gesture!

"Hah, nice to meet you, Amethyst. Say, you've probably been in town longer than me- how about you show me around?"

Stars suddenly filled Amethyst's eyes, having been given a tour of Beach City mere days ago, and now being offered a chance to do the same for a new friend! And with what she's been lucky enough to learn about, there was so much she wanted Lapis to see!

Quickly, she'd begin to pull Lapis out of the house, leading her toward Funland- the quaint little amusement park which seemed to provide a majority of the fun to be found in this fairly small oceanic town. 

However, Lapis Lazuli would soon show that she was quite ignorant to the modern trappings of Earth, as she'd admit, "I uh... I'm feeling a bit lost. What is that giant wheel for? Is it some kind of mineral-harvesting tool? And what are all these smells...?"

"I'll show you!" Amethyst exclaimed, bringing Lapis over to one of the food stands, where she'd summon forth several bills from her gem and slam them down onto the counter- enough that the dark-skinned and bald-headed owner of this place seemed concerned she was about to split his food stand in half.

When that proved to not happen, though, he'd question, "What is it you're wanting to get today, little Amethyst? Somethin' for you and your uh... friend?"

"Yeah, friend. And honestly, it's all up to her, I can't even begin to guess what any of this stuff is..." Lapis admitted, while not realizing why the man hesitated on what to call Lapis in terms of her relationship to Amethyst. 

Amethyst would begin pointing, and luckily the man's talent with understanding children made him keen when it came to nonverbal forms of bartering, so he would quickly realize she wanted two things of cotton candy- which he gladly offered to both of them.

Chuckling softly, he'd ask, "Anything else for ya? Maybe one of those sodas you seem to love?"

Her head shook to the point that she looked like a bobblehead, and she'd gesture toward Lapis to indicate wanting one for each, and soon she'd present more cash to prove it to not be a pointless inquiry.

"Hah, thanks. Oh, and you've been such a good customer to me, you can take a ride on the Ferris wheel for free! Don't get used to it, though, I'm not that nice!"

After receiving their cherry colas, the two gems would begin heading toward what was apparently not a structure meant to harvest the Earth's resources through its perpetual spinning, but a... wheel made by someone named Ferris? Well, that hardly helped.

Getting into one of the seats, Lapis would admit, "Earth seems so strange to me, I can't begin to imagine how much happened while I was away. Do you know what that's like?"

"...yeah," Amethyst replied, breaking from her chipper and childlike excitement to look a bit solemn. "I was.... alone... in a dark place. A hole in, a wall."

It would not take a genius to understand what Amethyst was saying... as long as they understood Homeworld's methods of creating gems through the Earth. And given the size of this Quartz soldier, Lapis realized fast what had happened to her.

As she took bites from her cotton candy, the former terraformer commented, "I guess we are pretty similar, in a way. I became a casualty of a war I never even wanted a part in, and you... well, I'm sure you don't even know what the war was."

"Um... no," Amethyst admitted after a brief moment of thinking, before slurping her soda a bit too loud.

It was pretty small and inconsequential, but it made Lapis laugh, as she really admired just how happy this small gem seemed to be despite how confusing and different everything was.

Giving a playful elbow as they reached the top, Lapis would remark, "Maybe I should be more like you- not get so worked up about what I missed, and just enjoy what I get to see now."

As the sugar began to make her feel like she was buzzing, Lapis Lazuli felt confident that the future was going to be something strange, but worth it. 

They'd reach the very top of the Ferris wheel and she'd have to admire the way the sun was shining down on them. Homeworld never looked as beautiful as this to her, but maybe that was because she was never given a chance to admire... well, anything. They didn't teach you to stop and smell the roses, especially because there was hardly any plant life to enjoy. But on Earth, it seemed that you had so many opportunities to enjoy the world around you. There wasn't one singular being you had to worship in order to guarantee a happy life. Well, at least none that posed an immediate threat.

"So, Amethyst- anything else you wanna show me once we're off of this thing? Compared to me, you're probably an expert when it comes to this town, so feel free to treat me as your student."

Amethyst returned to her excited and upbeat attitude, looking ready to drag Lapis Lazuli off to see the next thing this town had to offer. Her thoughts were clearly not fixated on why she was made, or who if anyone she serves; what she cares about most right now is just enjoying Beach City's culture. 

An hour would pass in which Amethyst would take Lapis through a magnificent tour of this place's many cultural touchstones. Of course, it wasn't really on her mind that Beach City hardly had much of a reach, since it had a population of several dozen- Beach City was the biggest city she's ever known, and she treated it like any Earthling would treat Las Vegas or Chicago.

And Lapis would grow to see it sort of like that too, even as someone who had been on Homeworld long enough to understand its size. Just the variety of food that could be found in this place was pretty intriguing to her, from fish on pizza to an entire restaurant dedicated to fries. Then, there was the arcade- a digital wonderland of escapism where one could easily get sucked in so deep that they would feel tempted to just stay in that dimly lit building and have the sounds of bleeps and bloops be the only music they hear.

Oh, but speaking of music, Lapis Lazuli's tour did not end on the boardwalk. She'd be lead off to what at first appears to merely be an abandoned warehouse, only to enter and find a whole bunch of people dancing and cheering. She hardly needed any motivation to start dancing along, and people would grow to see the blue gem as quite the party-loving person. 

Collapsing on the grass in front of Steven's house, she'd admit with a sigh, "This is the first time in a while I've felt tired... but in a good way, you know?"

"Yeah. This place rocks."

Lapis could only laugh, enjoying that sort of Earth language that would never make sense on Homeworld. Then again, the idea of individuals having fun for themselves... that alone would be alien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to satisfy the needs of some people writing about this pairing- not romantic, per se, but definitely a healthy blossoming relationship there.
> 
> Who knows what could happen next?


	13. This Sword is Historic!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clearly needing to find a way to teach Steven the stuff about Homeworld that they aren't experienced in, the Rubies take him to an important part of their history... and find something that leads him to what some may have wanted to forget.

Steven loved gem history, it was obvious by the way he got invested in even the most trivial of stories the Rubies might give about time on Homeworld or in space. However, the Ruby Squad was definitely limited in the width and depth of their knowledge, which was sort of the point of a Ruby in the first place- rather than wasting time on retaining information long-term, they were just meant for immediate action. In fact, the Ruby Squad going this long focusing on something like raising a child definitely was a huge shift in the kind of work that a Ruby would possibly be imagined doing. 

Most of the Rubies had not had direct involvement in the war, with the exception of Eyeball, who spoke often about her experiences and the troubles that came about from being someone so small fighting against such a resilient force, as well as how her views on both sides of it had changed since then. And now, she was returning to one of Earth's most prominent war hotspots- the Strawberry Battlefield. It was beautiful, while also subtly tragic, in its appearance- patterned with incredible flora and the lost weapons of presumably fallen warriors.

"Would it be in poor taste for me to take one of these weapons to use?" Steven questioned. "I mean, I know I'm gonna need something to defend myself with if I ever get in danger, but... I know these all belonged to people once."

Blowing that question off, Doc assured him, "Anything that's here is up for the taking, Steven! Try to make sure you know how to use whatever you pick, though, don't wanna get hurt!"

He'd begin to rummage through the countless items, from long skinny blades to large blunt force objects, trying to pick out the best option for someone at his skill level. Eventually, he came across something that really caught his eye...

Soon, he'd get the rest of the Squad's attention as he held up a pink scabbard and proclaimed, "I found a weapon meant for me!"

"Ghrk... S-Steven, that's not a weapon, that's just the sheath!"

Letting out a gasp, he'd remark, "I didn't think you knew such foul language, Navy..."

"Eheheh, what she's saying is that that's the uh, thing you put the sword in," Army explained, as everyone was quite amused by Steven's lack of awareness of what counted as weaponry.

He'd realize his mistake, but then analyze the scabbard and question, "Doesn't this look like something Rose would've had? Like, it has the rose on it, and it's pink, so..."

"Yeah, I guess so! Good work, Steven!" Leggy exclaimed, clapping with enthusiasm, as Eyeball appeared very silent and brooding upon the realization of this fact. 

Taking a moment to consider things, Steven would muse, "If I already have her lion, there'd be no harm in claiming her sword, right? If she could use it, no reason I couldn't!"

The Rubies would seen satisfied with this idea... well, most of them, at least.

They'd warp back to Beach City, and Steven would rush to Greg with the scabbard while shouting about his quest.

"You want a sword?! Steven, if you're not old enough to drive, I don't know how I could let you use something that dangerous!"

Frowning, he'd argue, "But this one is Rose- I mean, mom's sword! I have her gem, I think it only makes sense I get her weapon too! And I'm apart of the Ruby Squad, I have to learn how to defend myself if I can't figure out how to use my shield!"

"Well... alright, as long as you promise to be careful and whatnot. I'll take you to where we keep the sword, okay?" 

Before Steven and Greg could even take a full step in that direction, Eyeball rushed over with a request: "L-let me come with you, to get another look at it. I think... this might be good for me..."

"Hm, alright Eyeball, if you're okay with it," Greg responded with a smile, before gesturing for the two to follow him.

The garage was quite a mess when Steven was first born, but it was taken as extremely important to get it cleaned out in order to better keep track of... well, everything that one might need for taking care of a child. Some things were kept for sentimental or practical value, some things were sold for extra dough, and others were trashed because nobody would possibly want them. In the very first category would be Rose's sword, the one she had carried with her to confront the Rubies out of fear they may attempt to harm Beach City during her last moments alive.

When Steven was born, the sword clinked onto the ground and was completely motionless, but none of the Ruby Squad seemed to have a desire to mess with it- perhaps it held too many bad memories for them, or they were paranoid that somehow it would attack them if they touched it. Either way, that left Greg to drag it with him back into town, where he'd have to consider what to do with it.

Ultimately, when all the cleaning was done, it was placed in a sizable cardboard box, labeled "Rose's Sword" in black marker, and placed on a shelf that was at the perfect height that one would be able to get it down with ease.

He'd blow the dust off of it and grunt as he brought it to the ground and then opened the lid, revealing the ancient piece of gem history. In a true Cinderella moment, Steven would test the scabbard, and find it did exactly as intended and was a perfect match.

"You okay, Eyeball?"

Looking down at the weapon, she'd look back up at Greg and respond, "Y-yeah, I think so..."

Even as the three hugged in celebration of this moment of growth, Steven still didn't know how to feel about Rose- even on the level of calling her his mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recall how Rose still had the sword back in the first chapter, meaning it was not in Lion's mane. However, who's to say that the scabbard didn't still get lost? that's a fun tool for coming up with a plot~


	14. Ruby Red Boardwalk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Worried that they have been slacking off on getting to know the residents of Beach City, the Rubies have Steven help them in making sure everyone knows their nearly identical faces!

In the first several years of Steven's life, and thus the Ruby Squad's new life on Earth, they were pretty good at making the citizens of Beach City feel like they were all apart of the community- not just by saving them from spontaneous gem monsters that would show up, but by doing some smaller acts of kindness around town. Unfortunately, raising Steven and doing miscellaneous guarding duties took up a lot of their time, and it would grow hard to give Beach City the kind of attention they were able to in the earlier years. That should surely change...

And so, they would ask Steven if he could guide them around to the best locations in Beach City for them to reintroduce themselves to everyone and make it especially clear that, even though they were aliens from another galaxy, they didn't need to be treated like some sort of celebrity group! Nope, they were going to be so friendly and pleasant that nobody would be even a little bit shy about going up and saying hello! Of course, there was also the problem of trying to be taken seriously when they looked like quintuplet children to the average person.

"Okay, the Big Donut is where I go for breakfast every morning, so I'd say this is the best place to start!"

Raising an eyebrow, Doc questioned, "Is it healthy to eat for a kid to eat a donut every morning...?"

"Oh come on Doc, a little sugar isn't gonna kill anyone," Navy remarked with a sassy smile, causing the other Rubies to snicker lightly, while the Ruby Squad leader would give a light embarrassed chuckle in response.

Entering the front door to the Big Donut, they were all hit with quite the pleasant smell, before they'd soon be greeted by two of the employees.

Scratch that, they were the _only_ two employees- Sadie Miller, blonde girl who looked like she was only barely taller than a Ruby, and Lars Barriga, a teen with just a big poof of hair on top of his head and some noticeably stretched earlobes- was this the popular brand of Earth teen fashion?

Raising his hands in the air, Steven would proclaim excitedly, "Hey guys, I want you to meet my moms! Leggy, Army, Navy, Eyeball, and Doc!"

"Why'd you list us in that order?" Doc questioned, looking at her fellow Rubies but failing to see how he came to list them like that.

Shrugging, he'd admit, "It's not so much based on where you're standing but how the names sound when you list them off- like how it sounds better to say 'bacon and eggs' than 'eggs and bacon.''

"Why is she called Doc? Why not like, _Shades_ or something?" Lars questioned, leaning forward as he was paying more attention to these new faces- new to him, at least, since he barely got to meet these five when he was younger.

With a confident swagger, Doc would reply, "My name is Doc because I'm the smartest Ruby, and doctors are the smartest kinda humans there is!"

"...guess that checks out. So how long have you five been raising Steven? Man, having just one mom feels like a lot sometimes, so if I had that times five, I don't know what I'd do," Sadie remarked with a blush, indicating her mom was sort of the smothering type.

Raising her hand, Leggy would state, "Um well, we were there when he was born, which I think was just a few days after I was made... um, that sounds weird, I'm not like a kid or anything, gems aren't like that-!"

"At ease," Doc whispered, patting her on the shoulder in a way that seemed to soothe the suddenly stressed gem, as Sadie and Lars looked on with a mix of confusion and amusement.

With a smile, Lars would question, "Do you five wanna buy a donut? Cuz if we got five extra customers that'd be pretty good for business."

"Lars, you goof, we're the only employees here, I don't think we really are that in need of more money. But uh, yeah, feel free to have a donut if you'd like one, all of you!"

And so, that's exactly what happened- the five of them proceeded to buy the Triple Donut option, all of them getting a variety of options based on what appealed to their sensibilities- Navy got a pink donut with rainbow sprinkles, Doc got a regular frosted donut, Leggy got a white powdered donut, Army got a chili powder donut to prove just how tough she was, and Eyeball... just got whatever Steven got, not entirely sure about what donut spoke to her but wanting to make Steven happy.

As she chomped away, Doc would question, "Where else would be good to visit? And will it all involve eating?"

"Eheh, yeah, I get it, gems aren't really super into eating... hm, maybe it might work best to go to Funland, then? There are usually always a bunch of people there!"

They'd all nod in agreement, following Steven's lead to the humble little amusement park, and it would essentially turn into a meet-and-greet. Everyone was so excited to meet the quintet that they had previously only heard about from someone who themselves only vaguely knew the details from a friend's recounting. It seemed like nearly everyone was completely starstruck by their mere presence!

Of course, that made it all the more humbling when they met those who weren't as easily impressed- a short onion-headed kid seemed pretty indifferent, while a group of rad teens appeared to take their appearance in stride while still being fairly friendly. All in all, though, all the Rubies had to agree that they had a real responsibility to make sure the small but lively population of Beach City never lost their innocence or their way of life. If they learned anything from living there on Earth, it was that being small did not mean being insignificant or irrelevant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been spinning a wheel to decide what plot points to do next so I don't rush into any big plot developments, and I ended up randomly landing on some plot-light Boardie interactions!
> 
> Also, given the estimates made by certain people about how much money Beach City would make on a yearly basis, having five extra customers in the form of the Ruby Squad (if one doesn't include Lapis and Amethyst) would be quite a significant change!
> 
> If you're worried that these chapters are a bit too short, don't worry, I'm saving the long chapters for the big plot developments~


	15. Look What Steven Can Do!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven discovers an incredible power, one that was definitely not on the top of the list...

It had not been a secret that Steven was a bit insecure about how much he was lagging behind the others in the power department. He knew by now he should be able to summon some sort of weapon, or form bubbles around things... heck, he could at least muster up some Ruby-style strength! But nope, he just got a hand-me-down sword and a very supportive family, both of which were pretty nice but weren't an easy replacement for superpowers which felt like they were due any day now. Hmm, maybe if he stops expecting them, they'll show up faster...

Well, that's what he decided to do one morning- rather than focus on what he doesn't have, he was going to focus on everything he did have! He had a family of five moms and one dad, all of whom loved him with all of their hearts (even if five out of the six parental figures didn't technically have hearts); he had two additional gem friends who were more than willing to spend quality time with him even though they had only recently met him, and who he helped to save from their isolation; he had a friendship with a girl that had blossomed over the course of a year into what he hoped to call a little more; and all in all, he had an amazing town full of supportive people. It was hard for Steven to not appreciate just how many good things there were to be found.

It was this positive attitude that caused Steven to jump from his bed, run out his bedroom door, sprint onto the porch, and exuberantly jump into the air with a newfound sense of joy and appreciation of everything he had in his life! He felt like he could touch the clouds, and... well, it began to feel like he really was touching the clouds, from the looks of things. Wait, it didn't just feel like he could touch the clouds- upon opening his eyes, Steven would observe that this was exactly what was happening! But how can that be the truth? To be doing that, he'd need to be high above the ground... of course, glancing downward would confirm this idea, but it was still baffling and hard to believe. When you've spent about twelve years feeling perfectly normal, doing something so abnormal felt like it couldn't possibly be real. 

But yes, after performing the "pinch to the arm" test, Steven would understand that he had not been having a lucid dream that stood as a symbolic statement on his emotions, and he was not waking up to the smell of blueberry pancakes or another one of Navy's enthusiastic breakfast meals. No, he appeared to be genuinely floating off of the ground. It was frightening at first, but when he waved his legs around, he'd come to understand that there was seemingly no risk of plummeting downward at any dangerous velocity. He didn't know what that meant, apart from living. 

"Well, floating is a pretty good power, I guess. Definitely wasn't what I was expecting, but I can't really complain. But it would be bad if I couldn't share this with someone else... oh, there's Doc, I should try and get her attention!"

Steven would move to untie one of his shoes, and then try to toss it down to Doc so she'd take notice of him being so high up in the sky. Unfortunately, he did not aim it quite carefully enough, and the leader of the Ruby Squad got bonked right on top of her square little head.

She'd let out a soft yep before looking up in confusion and gasping in shock, looking immensely panicked! Steven wanted to try and reassure her that all was okay, but it seemed that she could not hear him from all the way down there. He'd watch as she ran inside, and after a solid half a minute, all of the Rubies rushed out and began freaking out over what was going on.

Before he could do anything about this, Doc would end up getting picked up and tossed into the air with enough force to bring her to Steven's height.

Quickly, he'd move to grab Doc's hands, which would leave her dangling off the ground whilst Steven tried to keep a good grip on her.

"S-Steven! W-what happened?!"

With a chuckle, he'd explain, "W-well, I was just in a really good mood, so I went outside and jumped, and uh... I think I was so happy that I floated...?"

"Wow, this is definitely quite a unique power. So does that mean you need to be in a bad mood to fall...? I don't wanna make you sad, but it would be bad for you to stay floating for too long..."

Thinking it over, he would admit, "Well, maybe it'd be okay to be sad for a small bit if it meant I could get back to the ground. Should I uh, put you back down?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine!" Doc assured him while her legs dangled. "Hm, what can I say that would make you feel sad... uh, Steven, you're grounded!"

Steven would feel marginally less happy, causing his descent to be increased enough that he felt the wind rushing beneath him. However, he was still quite a bit above the ground. And whoops, he accidentally let go of Doc!

He let out a sigh, worrying that at this rate it would be all day before he got to the ground. It seemed like he spent so long taking the stuff he had for granted, and just as he was beginning to really appreciate it, he was left only able to observe it from thousands of feet in the sky. What if he never gets to go on another adventure? What if he never gets to taste another sweet pastry from Big Donut? Heck, for all he knows, he could starve up here, and nobody would know until it was...

Well, suddenly things were feeling a lot more tense, as he felt the wind rush past him at quite a dangerous rate! No longer was he moving downward as a leisurely and relaxing pace; instead, it was like he was actually free-falling! At first he very well have been excited about the fact that he was getting down faster, but then common sense took effect and he realized that someone with as many human squishy parts as him wouldn't be able to survive such a fall. Even Doc looked rattled from a fall of that height and she's really tough!

"Oh no, Steven, you thought too negative! I didn't even think you were able to do that!" he exclaimed, giving himself repeated slaps to punish himself, only to find that being self-depreciating was actually making things worse, as he started to plummet at a quicker rate than before!

The Rubies below may have been a bit worried at first, but seeing him fall at this pace made them flip out, and they'd rush to find a way to soften the fall if there was no way to do anything to slow down the descent! Truly, this was a desperate situation!

Talking aloud to himself, trying to tune out the whistling sound of wind in his ears, he'd question with urgency, "Okay, what makes me really happy...? This should be so easy, I'm always happy! Why is that right when I need to be happy the most it's the hardest?!

"Okay, okay... the reason I floated in the first place was because I appreciated everything I had. The Rubies, my dad, Connie, Beach City... wait, I get maybe the reason that thinking about them isn't making me happy right now is because I'm too focused on being afraid of losing them..."

He took a deep breath, and began to think to himself about everyone in his life who he cared about, and who in turn cared about him. Even though he hasn't developed his powers, the Rubies always made him feel like he was apart of the team, bringing him along regardless of how much he was needed. His dad was nowhere near ready to start raising a kid when he was born, but every day he still gives him all the love necessary to make him as confident as he deserves to be, even teaching him to be musically skilled. 

He let out a sigh, and finally whispered to himself as a tear floated up from his eye, "Everything is okay..."

The Rubies, Greg, Connie, and even a few Boardies gathered around to watch as Steven would slow his fall to something safer, plopping onto the pillows they had urgently rushed to pile down. He was crying, but not because of any fears he had over what harm might come to him- in fact, he was smiling. 

The time would come to learn how to use this power for missions. Right now, Steven was in need of a good donut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up flipping a coin multiple times to see what power Steven would discover... and what a funny thing that it'd land on one of Steven's seldom thought-about abilities!
> 
> At first you may not expect this to be an emotional chapter, but given that the crux of the original episode was that Steven needed to think happy thoughts to fall slower or he'd likely DIE, it definitely feels fitting to have that pathos.


	16. Steven and Leggy's Almost-The-Same Birthday Bash!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the rest of the Rubies may be pretty old, but Leggy being just a day older than Steven gives him incentive to share his birthday with her!

It was Steven's thirteenth birthday pretty soon, and while he's celebrated many birthdays, this would be the first one he celebrated with the Ruby Squad all together! Often they use his birthday as an excuse to leave him with Greg while they dealt with things that seemed more vital, like... well, he had no idea, but he was sure they had good reasons. But still, now they would be able to have a big birthday bash as one weird family!

Bouncing around all hyper from just having a sprinkled chocolate donut for breakfast, he would inquire from the Rubies, "Aren't you guys excited for my birthday?! This is a big deal, I'm gonna be a teen!"

"Oh yeah, Steven, we are very excited!" Doc stated, urging the rest of the Rubies to express similar levels of eagerness. "Birthday celebrations are very uncommon, so it's taken some time for us to get used to it, but we will do whatever it takes to make you happy!"

Leggy, raising a hand, questioned, "Can you explain what a birthday is again, real quick...?"

"Yeah, it's the day that you well... hm, dad never had that talk with me, actually... well in short, it's the day you come into existence!"

Thinking about that, the often uncertain gem would admit, "Oh yeah, I think I have my birth-day on Wednesday then."

"W-wait, what...?! Mine is on Thursday! How did I not know you had a birthday the day before mine??"

She would give a nervous shrug whilst Eyeball admitted, "The rest of us are like, thousands of years old, so it sort of slipped our minds that Leggy was so young."

"We need to do something to accommodate this! All these years I've been having fun on my big day and I didn't realize I was leaving Leggy out!" 

Giving a chuckle of amusement, Navy assured Steven, "Leggy hasn't been left out, gems don't even celebrate birthdays! I'm sure she is perfectly-"

"I'd enjoy celebrating my day of birth," Leggy shyly admitted, stepping forward, evoking some expressions of confusion and surprise from most, but delight and excitement from Steven specifically! 

Looking a bit confused, Doc would proclaim, "B-but gems don't age like humans do, celebrating the day a gem came out of the ground doesn't have the same meaning!"

"Hey, she just said she wanted to celebrate it!" Steven exclaimed, wrapping an arm around Leggy. "And maybe on Homeworld they didn't let you celebrate birthdays because they were focused on making you do marches and salutes or whatever, but on Earth you can do anything you want! So you guys should be supportive of Leggy's wish to celebrate the day she came into her existence!"

The rest of the Ruby Squad glanced amongst themselves, taking a moment to consider Steven's words, before showing their approval with a cute round of applause- Eyeball even tearing up just slightly, though she tried to pretend it wasn't happening, since she liked to appear the toughest of the group.

Steven would soon run to his dad and inform him of the incoming alteration of plans, and how Leggy agreed to the idea of celebrating her own birthday alongside Steven's. Greg gave the suggestion of combining the two days to conserve on the number of balloons and cake they'd need to buy, and Steven agreed as long as they'd both equally get celebrated. Agreeing to those simple terms, his father would temporarily close up the wash and head to the local supermarket in hopes of finding plenty of good cake and other celebratory items that would allow for extreme jubilation!

Soon, Thursday would roll around, and the preparations were all ready- balloons of red and yellow had been bought en masse, cakes had been specifically ordered that would have messages like "Happy Birthday Steven + Leggy" written on them, and there were plenty of gifts that Greg and the rest of the Ruby Squad coordinated that were personalized for both the birthday boy and the birthday Ruby.

Both Leggy and Steven were given blindfolds and were taken outside, and when the blindfolds were removed, they saw something that would cause them both to tear up and smile from incredibly overwhelming happiness!

Pretty much everyone in town had gathered to celebrate this day, from immediate friends like Connie to people Steven only knew in passing like Mr. Smiley. They all had been convinced to come to give both him and Leggy the kind of birthday celebration that one might think only existed in cheesy movies. But no, it was definitely real, or Steven wouldn't have needed to be given a napkin to wipe away his tears of joy. He felt a bit silly being this happy about this sort of occasion, but he just didn't realize people cared this much about him!

Sitting at a table with Leggy and enjoying a slice of chocolate cake with red icing, Steven would admit sheepishly, "Um, part of the reason I was so adamant about celebrating this with you was because, um... I felt like this was the only way I could feel some sort of connection to you guys. My first power I got ended up causing me to nearly splatter myself, and the rest of you are a hundred times older than me... it just feels nice that even one of you is able to relate to me about being younger and inexperienced."

"Steven, you don't need to feel bad about that. I didn't say yes to the birthday thing out of pity or anything- I really did want to see what a birthday celebration would feel like. And..."

Steven leaned in, awaiting Leggy's next words.

Smiling wide, Leggy proclaimed, "I love it! Birthdays are so fun, I hope I get to celebrate this every year! I mean, yours too, but also mine!"

Steven grinned, and the two of them would share a hug, as Steven felt happy to be apart of this team, and to have someone who felt almost like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured this sort of plot would make for a combination of something fluffy and something emotional, since Steven might want to use this connection to bridge the gap between him and the Rubies in terms of their experiences.  
> Also, as I said in the other chapter, I felt inclined to get this chapter written fairly fast because I wanted to get something out on my birthday!


	17. Let's Get Tough (in the Meaningful Way)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rubies decide to give Steven his first formal lesson in being real tough in combat, with Connie joining. Things take a turn, though, and a different kind of toughness must be taught.

It appeared that Steven was really in need of some actual training. Sure, he was good socially and knew a lot about gem history, but none of that was any good if he didn't know how to use his fists or defend himself! He hadn't even learned to summon a weapon yet, so it was about time that he figured out exactly how to hold his own in battle. So, the Rubies would take him to a fancy stadium in the sky... and Connie went with them, apparently being interested in watching their methods of training someone in physical combat.

"Okay Steven, all you have to do is run at me as fast as you can and try to push me down! Don't be afraid of hurting me, I can take it!"

Even after that reassurance from Army, Steven hesitated and admitted, "It's hard for me to do that when you're always so nice to me...!"

"Hm, do you need extra motivation...? Okay, just imagine I just stole all your donuts, and I'm eating them in front of you!"

Scratching his chin, he would shrug and respond, "I'm sure you had a good reason for it, so it's really alright."

"Steven, you aren't that much of a pushover in your day-to-day life, right?" Connie whispered to him with a bit of concern. "Try to imagine that Army is an enemy who is holding me hostage, and you can't save me unless you push her over!"

That did seem to act as proper motivation, and he'd run at Army as fast as he could, ready to push her down! And to everyone's surprise, he was able to do it with quite a bit of ease, with the strongest of the Rubies being knocked off her feet and stumbling onto her back.

Feeling concerned and guilty, he'd rush to ask, "A-are you okay...?!"

"Ehehe, don't worry Steven, ol' Army has taken bigger hits than that! But that was your first step to being tough as nails like me!"

Shuffling his feet a bit, he'd soon mutter softly to himself, "I don't know how much I'd really wanna go about hurting people like that."

"Steven, this training isn't just to get you to hurt people- it's for defending those you care about, too!" Doc proclaimed excitedly. "You care about people so much, and the best way to keep them safe is your fists!" 

He started to wonder if this was really true. Is there no other way to protect those he loves than with aggression? Dad always told him that sometimes it was best to go a more peaceful method in solving his problems, but this new lesson from his moms really threw off his whole outlook. His birth-mom even had a sword, which makes him wonder if it's his destiny to defend his family by destroying anyone who tries to hurt them...

Navy, approaching him with concern, asked him gently, "You okay, bud? You look a bit down..."

"Oh, um, yeah, just thinking," he replied, blinking rapidly to get rid of any tears before they had a chance to drip out. "I think I'm ready for some more training!"

It was soon time to continue, and Eyeball would step forward and summon her dagger before explaining, "Sometimes enemies don't just come at ya with their fists, they can bring weapons too! But just because you don't have a weapon to summon yet doesn't mean you can't still stop 'em! You know what you gotta do, right?"

"Uh... run away really fast...?"

She'd give a laugh and remark, "You're a real riot, Steven! But no, you gotta get me in the throat, and then twist my arm behind my back until I drop my weapon! I got a ton of weak spots if you need 'em!"

He'd shake his head a bit, feeling like he got the idea. However, he forgot that Eyeball was the one coming at HIM in this scenario, not the other way around. He'd at first move to perform the jab she explained, but hesitate, having trouble picturing her as anyone other than one of his most valuable family members who he could never bring himself to harm. Yes, she was powerful and able to recover fast, but... what if he hit too hard, and it hurt their relationship? What if he slipped up so bad she thought he was too weak to train? What if she hurt him and he had to spend weeks in bed, just watching them go on their adventures from his window? All of that sounded so painful to him, even without the inclusion of a sharp dagger...

His eyes clenched shut and he let out a cry, but the gasps from those watching made him realize he had done something else as well...

Opening one eye at a time, he saw what happened- Eyeball had feigned an attempt at a stab, having aimed just to stop short of his elbow, only for him to summon forth a dazzling pink shield that caused her knife to shatter on impact. 

Immediately, Connie and the rest of the Rubies gathered around to praise him for that move- how did they not predict that he could end up defending himself with a shield? Oddly, though, Eyeball hesitated, looking a bit distraught...

"T-that... that is Rose's shield... I remember her in battle, standing there like a ghost... S-Steven, I'm so sorry, I..."

He put a hand on her shoulder, assuring her, "No, I should be sorry. I didn't concentrate on your lesson enough, and-"

"Neither of you should be sorry," Connie declared, stepping in between them. "Steven having a shield means that this kind of lesson doesn't suit him, but that doesn't mean you guys were wrong to want to teach him these maneuvers."

In the end, it was decided that Steven was not worse off from having a shield rather than anything aggressive. He was still a tough kid, just not the way one would initially think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted an episode to parallel the message of Coach Steven, but with no fusions existing in this reality besides Stevonnie, here's what I did! Also, here's the shield!


	18. Unbubble Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rubies decide to unbubble Peridot after a bit too long of holding off on it, but have trouble figuring out how to get information from her.

The Rubies had all been simply goofing off on this sunny day, having nothing to really worry about since nothing was attacking Beach City at the moment. The local park was quite fun for them to roughhouse and joke around, and it made them look like quite a tight-knit group. However, Steven had trouble focusing on all that with what was currently festering on his mind...

"H-hey uh, guys? Do you think we should let Peridot out yet? I know she was mean, but... what if she has something important to tell us?"

Scoffing, Eyeball responded, "We do not need to listen to her! She's just a bully!"

"Hm, I'm not sure, Eyeball. She may have been a bit impolite, but if she doesn't have her Limb Enhancers, she could give us valuable information," Doc lamented with a thoughtful expression, and the one-eyed Ruby quickly groaned.

After a moment of discussion, it was decided that they could gain something from releasing Peridot and talking to her about what information she had on her regarding the Cluster and if she'd be able to be... well, _forced_ to help them stop it from destroying everyone. It was at least worth a shot.

Soon, they would head down to the basement where all bubbled gems were sent, and right there at the front was Peridot's gem. 

In a stern tone, Doc urged her fellow Rubies, "I know Peridot was threatening before, but now she is without her weaponry, so I advise to not instigate anything! If she attempts to start any fights, we should aim for de-escalation!"

"Okay, but if we really wanna fight...?" Army asked hopefully, flexing a muscle casually.

She'd shake her head, though, and remind her, "Being able to show restraint is really the best way to demonstrate your strength."

With everyone now in agreement, they'd stack up to grab the bubble and bring it back down, and since the basement was not the best place to have a conversation, they'd bring it to the living room. Then, they had Steven do the honors of popping it, thinking he needed some hands-on experience. 

The bubble was popped, and Peridot's gem floated in the air and began to glow. They were all amazed to watch as the once intimidating gem would reform, smaller than she had been before... although a bit frustrated that she was still taller than all the Rubies.

"Gah, unhand me you-!! W-wait... where am I....??" 

Peridot's last memory was being suddenly grabbed by the fusion of all five Rubies, so she was just a tad bit out of it at the moment. She was definitely getting a bit of sensory overload, surrounding by the people who poofed her, in such a brightly lit room, and seeing so many things she's never seen before. Not only that, but she looked now intimidated by these previously unassuming gems, and scrambled to get away...

Approaching now, Steven urged, "W-we don't wanna hurt you! We just wanna talk for a bit!"

"W-why would I ever trust you?! You claimed to not be Crystal Gems but you've betrayed Homeworld and are taking the offspring of Homeworld's biggest traitor under your wing, and you left me completely defenseless! This is some kind of game for you, isn't it?! You just wish to mock and scare me...?!"

The Rubies definitely realized that unbubbling Peridot, no matter how soon or how late, was going to really rattle her. So, they decided to have the most empathetic of their group to come forward to speak to her.

Navy would approach with her arms out while assuring her, "You're not in any danger. We poofed you because we felt threatened, but we wish not to cause you any harm- just to see if you can help us keep the Earth from being destroyed."

"Y-you mean with the Cluster...? Hm, I guess since I'm stuck on this planet with no feasible way to escape..."

Scratching her chin, Doc asked, "What about the Warp you used to get here, with the help of those little robots?"

"The uh... the Warp? Did you not destroy that after you poofed me...?"

It was dawning on the Rubies that maybe that would've been the sensible thing to do... but now Peridot realized that she had a way of getting back.

However, Navy would grab her leg and trip her before she had a chance to run out the door.

Screaming, she'd plead, "L-let go of me, I need to get back to Homeworld!"

"If you do that, you're probably gonna tell your Diamond about us, and then she'll shatter us!"

Whining, Peridot asked, "W-what reason do I have to not do that?! You've been nothing but trouble for me the moment I met you, and the Diamonds-"

"They don't care about us!"

Eyeball's furious exclamation would silence Peridot and everyone else making a commotion. 

Eyes now on the gem, she would begin to lament, "I used to be like you. I lived each day to serve my Diamond, wanting nothing but their respect and love. But we went on this Earth mission thirteen years ago, and even now, nobody has come looking for us. They don't respect us, and the only thing they love about us is how willing we are to throw away our lives for them."

"...well... that is certainly a lot to think about. But what are we supposed to do about the Galaxy Warp? I'm sure there is a risk in leaving it intact..."

Pondering this, Doc proposed the solution: "We'll go back and break it, but not so bad it can't be fixed later. And Steven can stay here and talk to you about the Cluster."

Soon, the Rubies warped away, and Steven would sit down on the couch with Peridot, who fiddled with her fingers and struggled to find the right things to say now. Steven could tell that she was thinking of Eyeball's words and that she most likely knew that they were quite accurate. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured we should bring Peridot back into the mix, right?


	19. Random Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two gems meet each other for the first time.

Peridot was obviously a bit nervous to be walking around in the open in what felt like completely alien territory to her. Well, it didn't just feel like it- this place genuinely was completely alien to her! She's only ever been on Earth in the areas where Homeworld long ago had warped in, and nowhere that had been heavily populated. Sure, it wasn't really that crowded, but it would be more humans in one place than she's ever seen before. After she already spilled the beans on the Cluster, though, Steven insisted quite a bit that she get a tour.

At first, she worried that humans would somehow know who she was- like the Rubies would've told everyone about her being some sort of evil alien who they needed to personally rampage against. However, nobody seemed to really be that concerned over her; at most, they looked pretty eager to greet her and get to know her. There was one weird blonde kid who wanted to snap photos of her, but Steven assured her that he was purely just trying to get popular online, not turn her into the government. She didn't know what the government was but trusted him.

Eventually, her tour ended at Funland, where Steven gushed about all the fun rides and amazingly unhealthy snacks that could be enjoyed. However, she was tuning out hardcore, her attention centering on one thing... or, one person in particular. 

There appeared to have been other gems to arrive in Beach City after the Crystal Gems but before her, and one of them- with a tall figure and a blue complexion- was currently indulging herself in some weird cloud-like substance.

Steven, not understanding her curiosity, remarked, "Oh, she's just eating cotton candy, it's sort of snack that's, well... I'm not really-"

"I don't care about what she's eating, Steven," she interrupted quickly, a hand on his face. "I want to know who she is."

Raising an eyebrow, he'd question, "You do? Why, do you wanna make a friend?"

"I don't know what you're talking about with this friend idea, I simply am intrigued by her appearance and want to figure out her identity. She looks like a Lapis Lazuli, but something is very off about her... hm, I think it must be that I'm not terrified of her right now and that she's not destroying your planet with its own oceans."

Giving a chuckle in amusement, Steven remarked, "Gems don't have to do what they did on Homeworld anymore! I guess where she came from she used to destroy planets with her water powers, but on Earth, she can basically do whatever she wants! And she really seems to like living in Beach City as if she was any other resident!"

"Hm, fascinating. If I were to go over and talk to her, would she feel threatened and attempt to attack me, or would it be safe?"

Confused by the question, he simply stated, "You can say hi if you want."

That was enough for her, so she'd begin to walk over to Lapis, soon standing a mere few feet away from her. However, she'd realize that she did not yet notice she was there, so he would clear her throat to get her attention.

"Oh, um, hey," Lapis would greet, looking down at Peridot with a blank expression. "Who're you?"

Taking a confident stance, she would soon proclaim, "I am Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG, certified Kindergartener and-"

"Hehe, Kindergartener? You know that doesn't really matter anymore, right? Kindergartens are completely busted now, they might as well be any other dusty canyons."

She did not expect Lapis to come out the gates with such harsh language when it came to one of her biggest accomplishments, and she gave a side-eye to Steven, only for him to simply shrug to indicate that he had not influenced her to say anything of that nature. If Lapis was not one for Homeworld accomplishments, perhaps what was best was to use some sort of Earth small-talk in order to get on her good side. For some reason, Peridot was very interested in... what was it Steven said... making a friend out of her? Yes, that's right.

Composing herself now, Peridot would clarify, "I had not understood until recently the dire state of Kindergartens, but I realize that is a moot talking point. How about you tell me something about yourself, though? I already find you to be far more interesting than any gem I've seen before."

"That's nice, thanks," Lapis remarked, giving an awkward glance away, blushing just slightly. "Well, I've really come to like Beach City. It's kind of silly, but I feel like when I'm here, I really get a chance to do what makes me happy, it doesn't matter what serves someone else."

Nodding slowly, the short gem would respond, "That is an astute observation. As for me, I am terrified of being on this planet, because inevitably a Diamond-created monster will burst from the Earth's crust and destroy us all. Otherwise, the plant life is certainly admirable, wouldn't you agree?"

"...what was that part about destroying us all?"

Cue Peridot with her face in her hands running away in Steven's direction, clearly fearing she had ruined any chance at befriending this gem by floundering with her attempt at polite communication. Homeworld provided no preparation for something like this, what a waste of time!

Groaning, she would complain to Steven, "Trying to make friends with people is more difficult than anything I've ever experienced! She must think so lowly of me now!"

"Come on, don't be so hard on yourself- you've barely spoken to her at all! But if you need some help, take this and use it to get her a gift!"

Steven would place some green slips of paper in her hands, and soon she'd be glancing around this strange amusement park in search of anything that a former terraformer might enjoy. She needed to be very careful with her choice...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It only seemed right to have a chapter where Lapis and Peridot meet! Also, probably gonna make this a two-parter, just for fun~


	20. The Second Attempt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot tries again, hoping for slightly better results, and this time uses a gift!

Peridot walked around Beach City Funland for a solid five minutes looking for something that someone like Lapis might find to be a pleasant gift. Eventually, she came across a stuffed animal of what looked like a sad blue frog and figured that someone who dealt with water might enjoy a facsimile of an aquatic animal. So, she would slam down money to purchase it... but then get told that she couldn't simply buy the toy outright. Rather, she had to pay to play the game, and if she did well enough, she could earn the toy that she wanted.

"This is completely asinine...!"

Gasping, Steven urged, "Watch your language, I'm too young to hear those kinds of words!"

"What? Ugh, whatever! If it takes me playing some sort of nonsensical ball-throwing game to win this prize, then I will go through with it! ...don't you have better things to do than watch me do this, by the way? Your growth-stunted guardians surely must have plenty of tasks for you."

Taking a moment to process her way of speaking, he'd chuckle and reply, "Oh, don't worry, I've gotten all my chores done, and we don't have any missions to go on! Although I did hear that they might wanna take me to the movies sometime, and I don't know if we have a movie theater in town, so that might turn into a big road trip!"

"Hm... how droll. Alright, watch and behold, the mighty Peridot's skills are unmatched in the field of-"

She cut herself off when she threw the baseball and it bounced off one of the rigid metallic bottles and hit her right in her gem, and she'd scream like a banshee as she fell over from the impact.

Covering her forehead and trembling, she'd question, "A-Am I shattered, am I dead...?!"

"No, you're not dead! Just let me take a look..."

He would try to uncover her hands, and when he managed to do it, he'd realize that, while the severity of it was greatly exaggerated, she still had a noticeable crack in her gem.

Sighing, he would assure her, "It isn't anything that can't be fixed. We can take you to the Fountain... but before we do, I think I wanna do something my dad always does for me when I get hurt."

"What is a dad...? W-wait, why are you getting so close?!"

She would close her eyes in anticipation of something painful, but soon realize what he did- plant a small kiss on her gem!

Scratching the back of his head and blushing a little, he'd remark, "S-sorry, that was probably weird, and I think I might've gotten a bit of spit on there. Let me just wipe it off..."

He would use his thumb to clean her gem of his split, going in a good circular motion, unintentionally rubbing it into the crack. However, he would be quickly astonished by something- the crack was glowing and then beginning to outright vanish, her gem completely mending itself! Wait, no, it didn't mend itself- Steven mended it with his spit!

"O-oh, wow, that's... kind of gross, but also really cool! To think, if I had just thought to kiss Lapis's gem-"

Lapis, having just gotten back from a ride on the roller coaster, would overhear her name and question, "What's up about my gem? What's going on?"

"Oh, um, not much really- Peridot accidentally got her gem cracked, but I fixed it, so we're good!"

Giving a slight chuckle of amusement, Lapis Lazuli would ask, "What could you have done at Funland to nearly shatter yourself?"

"I-I um... I was hoping to acquire you a gift, in order to win your approval and become your friend," Peridot admitted, finding it embarrassing to say out loud, as this was never something that a Peridot would be expected to do back on Homeworld- work hard to get the approval of non-Diamonds.

However, Lapis did not seem all too dismissive of the idea- instead, she seemed kind of appreciative and admitted, "That is really nice of you! I mean, you don't have to injure yourself just to win my approval, but it's nice that you thought you did!"

"Ah, well, I've never really been experienced with uh... friendship, or anything. ...excuse me, how many more tries do I have with this bottle game?"

Smiling as wide as ever, Mr. Smiley replied, "You have two more tries and then you need to pay me again!"

"Well put, sir... wait, what are the rules of this game? What is and isn't permitted to be done in order to get what one wants from it?"

Tapping his chin, he'd reply, "Uh... I guess mostly just don't climb over the counter and don't go over three turns?"

This was all she needed to hear. Whispering to Lapis, soon she'd be grabbed and lifted up, and with her position over the booth, she'd be able to toss a baseball with such momentum that it blasted all of the bottles away and left smoke and dust behind! Mr. Smiley didn't know what hit him, although luckily it was not literal, so he didn't end up having to file a lawsuit.

A minute later, Lapis was walking away clutching a giant sad frog plushie, and she would smile and declare to Peridot, "I really appreciate you wanted to do this with me, it means a lot."

"Oh, don't even mention it! I mean, do mention it, I enjoy being appreciated!"

The two laughed a little before Steven would see the Ruby Squad rushing in as if there was something urgent.

Turning to them, he would ask, "Is something wrong? Is movie night not gonna go as planned?"

"I don't know, but there is something definitely wrong! We accidentally let one of the monsters loose!"

Steven soon looked up to see that pink-and-white moth flapping through the sky... and oddly, clutching a familiar box in its little feet as if it was important tot hem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, I'm back to this too!
> 
> (Yep, next chapter will be our version of Monster Buddies/Reunion, but this time with a twist!)


	21. Moth Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rubies are trying to deal with a loose corrupted gem, and Steven finds a solution.

Steven would look up in the sky at the moth, already knowing what it was that they were carrying- it was the container that his mom's... well, his birth mom's sword was being safely kept! It definitely wasn't as safe anymore, obviously, which was going to be a pretty significant problem.

"Doc, do you know what we can do to get them to come back down?"

A bit stressed out, the Ruby Squad leader admitted, "I don't know, it's been so long since we first poofed them! Maybe we're going to need to fuse again and punch them real hard...?"

After a moment of thinking, Steven shook his head, deciding there must be an easier way to solve this without violence. He remembered that day in which he got himself stuck floating in the air, and he figured he could try to do something like that again to snatch the case back without needing to hurt the moth. So, he would squat down and concentrate...

Soon, he was soaring through the air and reaching his hands up, grabbing the case right from those antennae and then falling back down to land safely on the ground in that classic superhero pose.

Of course, he didn't account for the colorful moth flying down to try and get it back, so he'd quickly run for it to get inside! When he managed to do so and jump onto the couch, he thought he was safe, but the moth was very determined- smashing one of the windows and trying to crawl inside without getting hurt. How did it manage to squeeze itself in like that?

"What does it want with this sword? I don't even know how to use it, so what would a moth need it for?!" he would question, opening the box.

Instantly, the moth stopped, eyes fixated on the sparkling pink weapon. It was as if they had only subconsciously felt the need to grab this box based on what they sensed was in there, but now that they saw it, their mind was completely blown. Was it purely just an appreciation for the craftsmanship, or was there something more here that Steven was not quite seeing? He would leave the moth alone to admire the sword as he stepped outside to speak with the Rubies about something that was eating him up, and that he felt they could help with.

Raising her hands in the air with gravitas, Navy gasped, "You can heal with your mouth?!"

"Well, mostly my saliva, but yeah. I'm wondering- these gem monsters are sort of like regular gems who got messed up somehow, right?"

The Rubies looked amongst each other before Eyeball spoke up and admitted, "I narrowly got off Earth back in the day before the Diamonds' light bombarded it, and... I can say firsthand that it's exactly what happened."

"The Diamonds? You guys are really gonna need to teach me a bit about your history, I'm definitely out of the loop. Anyway, I bet if I use my healing spit, I could try and help them go back to normal by licking their gem!"

This made the group concerned, but Army would soon flex a muscle while proclaiming, "That's the spirit, just make sure to put 'em in a headlock first so they don't back away!"

Taking her advice to heart, Steven would soon head back inside and proceed to lick his hand, and he'd use his other arm to hold the moth's head still while rubbing the spit onto the shiny pearl on their forehead.

Slowly, after resisting a little, they began to display a strong reaction to this- glowing brightly before slowly shifting into a more humanoid form. It was clear now that the gem had a feminine appearance, not being 'they' but more 'she'- it was evident with the way her wings shifted into a fluffy dress and the antenna into arms with silky sleeves over them. That long tongue-like proboscis shifted to become a more human tongue sticking out of a little triangle-shaped mouth. Her eyes were still mostly black, but with little white pupils that were now darting around.

"Guys, I did it, she's a normal gem now!"

The Rubies soon went inside, and it appeared that the new friend would get very emotional seeing the gang as if their appearances reminded her of someone.

Doc, adjusting her visor, would remark, "That gem on her forehead, that's a Pearl if I've ever seen one."

"Oh, I see. Hm... so, is your name Pearl?"

In response, Pearl gave a swift nod while making a series of high-pitched squeaks while her tongue barely even moved from its position, just flopping around without any real purpose. Clearly, talking was not exactly a strong suit of hers yet, but she was making progress.

Since Pearl was unable to speak, Steven provided her with a pencil and paper, urging her, "Try and tell me what you remember! You can write it, or you can get creative and draw it!"

Soon, she began to do a series of illustrations with labels underneath that highlighted what they were supposed to be... of course, she didn't write them in English, but in the Homeworld gem language. Luckily, the Rubies were able to assist!

"So, this is what she looked like before she was mangled up, then this would be Garnet- wow, a fusion between two different gems, how unheard of! And then this..."

Eyeball stopped in her tracks, realizing what had just been illustrated and told to them. Pearl herself seemed unsure of if she was allowed to tell people about it, but perhaps she thought it was okay to merely write it down.

An illustration of Rose was drawn with hearts surrounding it- and then an arrow was pointed to Pink Diamond, with hearts around her too. And the label took away any subtly...

Reading aloud for them would be Steven, after a moment of silence: "Pink Diamond... decided to become Rose Quartz, rebellion leader."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys into the appearance of corrupted Pearl?
> 
> (oh, and ye, I figure that if Pearl was able to tell Steven the truth by texting, her corrupted form might be able to do it using illustrations.)

**Author's Note:**

> Wanted to spontaneously do a new story, just to see how people feel about it! Let's see how different things get with the Ruby Squad!


End file.
